The Dartmouth Energy Campaign reached its goal of 2,000 pledges on Tuesday, according to student organizer Melissa Knodel '09. Individuals who take the pledge commit to making eight to 12 changes in their daily lives aimed at conserving energy. Although the initial goal has been met, the pledge can be signed by anyone who wishes to join, according to Knodel. The Energy Campaign, which includes a variety of other energy-saving initiatives on campus, began on April 15.
Two members of the Dartmouth community -- Shivam Rajdev Tu'09 and Ashifi Gogo, a Ph.D. Innovation Program fellow at the Thayer School of Engineering -- recently placed first out of all American teams in the Global Social Venture Competition, the oldest and largest student-led business plan competition in the world, according to a Tuck School of Business press release. The team, which won $10,000, placed second globally. In their winning proposal, Gogo and Rajdev suggest using text messages via cell phone to check the authenticity of prescription medications in order to limit the spread of counterfeit drugs in Africa.
The value of Yale University's publicly disclosed stock dropped 31 percent as the institution sold its stake in two energy companies, Concho Resources and Tesco, Bloomberg News reported last week. Yale's stock was worth $63 million at the end of March, down from $91.7 million three months earlier. Yale has retained its largest holding, Douglas Emmett Inc. -- a real estate investment trust based in California. This news comes just months after Yale President Richard Levin announced that the university's endowment had dropped 25 percent from June 30 to December, down to $17 billion. Yale remains the second wealthiest institution in the nation, trailing Harvard University, according to Bloomberg. Dartmouth reported a loss of 18 percent, or $700 million, in its endowment on Dec. 31, 2008, The Dartmouth previously reported.
