Thank you. Those words might strike some as an odd way to begin a column, but they are the first words that come to mind as I look back upon my first term as dean of the College. I am in debt to the many of you who have shared with me your insights, stories and observations about life at Dartmouth as you have experienced it. I am especially thankful that you opened up your lives to two newly-arrived "transfer students" from Stanford. My wife, Karen, and I are happy and proud to call Dartmouth and Hanover our new home.
Late last week, one of your classmates asked me what I had learned during my first two months at Dartmouth. That question provoked an interesting conversation about some of the things I've learned so far and, through this column, I am following his advice that I share some of my thoughts with you.
I have learned that Dartmouth is a place where people are not shy about offering sound, common sense advice. Perhaps the best such advice came from College President James Wright, who encouraged me to spend as much time as possible outside of Parkhurst getting to know students on their own terms. That advice led to impromptu conversations with students: over lunch or coffee in Thayer and Collis; in the living rooms of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority; over dinner at Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Native American House; over s'mores at Russell Sage; and along the sidewalks in front of Parkhurst, on the Green and elsewhere. Thanks to the Student Assembly and the '01 Class Council, I also had the good fortune to meet many of you on the Collis patio (thanks for the ice cream) and during Sophomore Family Weekend.
As a former Dartmouth admissions officer, I've known for some time that there is really no such thing as an "average" Dartmouth student. However, over the past two months I've come to an entirely new appreciation of that statement. The breadth and diversity of your interests, talents, commitments and aspirations is truly inspiring!
When I have joined you at the lunch table or stopped you on the sidewalk, you have made time to tell me about your experiences, what you love about the College and what, given the opportunity, you might change to make life here even better than it is today. Though I've sometimes had the sense that you've been surprised to find yourself talking with "the Dean," you've provided me with a gift of inestimable value -- your honest opinions. I've tried to reciprocate by sharing mine.
In greater numbers than ever before at Dartmouth, your generation contributes to the most essential and enduring functions of the institution -- the creation and sharing of knowledge. An increasing number of you are engaged in original research, advancing the very frontiers of what is known. Many of you play important roles within the community as study group leaders, tutors, peer advisors and educators, residential life staff members, leaders of and contributors to more than 200 student organizations, and as caring friends. You take responsibility for your own learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Your contributions also extend beyond the classroom and laboratory. By the time of your graduation, approximately 75 percent of you will have contributed to improving the lives of others through your direct involvement in community service. I note, with great appreciation, that the preceding lists are by no means exhaustive.
I have learned that you also teach as much by what you do as by what you say. In these past two weeks I have learned a great deal -- about such things as respect, compassion, maintaining dignity in the face of adversity, standing up for one's beliefs and principles and the importance of listening -- through my interactions with the students who stayed up all night talking with one another, or perhaps more accurately, listening to one another before deciding to cancel the now much-discussed, unregistered Alpha Chi Alpha - Tri-Delt party. I hope that you value, as I do, that among the principal goals of a Dartmouth education is to cultivate the habits of heart and mind that enable you to assume, if only for a brief while, a perspective or critical stance that might initially seem foreign or uncomfortable to you. Regardless of your position on the appropriateness of the party or its cancellation, I hope you will also agree that the idea of a group of Dartmouth students engaging one another in a searching conversation about their respective views is a fundamentally sound one.
Years ago I was told that "luck" is what happens when preparation and opportunity meet. As I know how hard you've been working in preparation for the end of the term, I wish you the best of luck on your finals!
