Thirty-five years after the first female Dartmouth students arrived on campus, 375 alumnae will return to the College from Nov. 8-11 to participate in two events: Women in Medicine and Woman at Dartmouth. Women in Medicine will focus on women in medicine, politics and other professional fields while Women at Dartmouth will celebrate women's progress at the College.
All College alumnae were invited to Dartmouth to attend the Women at Dartmouth event, which will feature women from a wide variety of backgrounds, including a fashion editor for the New York Daily News and an investment advisor for Morgan Stanley. The women will speak about issues ranging from women's health to politics.
"It's a way for them to tell their stories," said Patricia Fisher '81, director of class activities and the organizer of Women at Dartmouth.
The event will culminate with a keynote address given by Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand '88, D-N.Y., and will also include a panel for undergraduates, a mother-daughter panel for alumnae and their Dartmouth children and alumnae author book signings. Alumnae will also have the opportunity to attend a reception with female Dartmouth faculty, according to the event's website.
"[Women will] have the opportunity to tell their story and stay connected to each other, as well as [to] Dartmouth," Fisher said.
Fisher said that the event will be largely driven by volunteers, which will include both the students who will run most of the event itself, the speakers and the panelists.
The Women in Medicine event is a professional development and leadership conference that will celebrate the experiences of women who have studied and worked at Dartmouth Medical School, according to the event's website.
Participants will have the chance to connect with other Dartmouth women in medicine and to consider the most pressing issues that women working in medicine face today. The conference also seeks to celebrate the contributions that Dartmouth women have made to the field of science, according to the event's website.
Speakers will discuss such subjects as career options, funding strategies and gender differences. Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt will also give an address.
All alumni and alumnae of Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth College, and the staff of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are eligible to attend.
Fisher said that the position of women at Dartmouth has improved greatly since she was a student, citing the current parent in numbers between men and women as contributing to a healthier campus environment.
"It's not perfect, but neither is the world," she said.
