President Jim Yong Kim praised College students for their empathy in a speech addressed to parents and family members who came to campus for Sophomore Family weekend. Speaking to a packed Collis Common Ground on Friday, Kim explained his vision for Dartmouth's future and took questions from parents regarding ethics, the College's budget and the job market.
"There are very few places on Earth that operate on such a wonderful culture of good faith," Kim said as he congratulated parents for choosing to send their children to Dartmouth.
Kim also joked that he would never be admitted to the College if he applied today.
Kim said he decided to forgo other opportunities and come to Dartmouth to serve as president because he would have more of an impact on society by encouraging students to help the world than by continuing his own work in global health.
Students should shift their focus from money and markets to the "three E's" excellence, engagement and ethics, Kim said, citing the philosophy of psychologist and Harvard University professor Howard Gardner.
"We have among the most talented group of young people who exist on the face of the Earth," Kim said. "We have to give them everything they need so they feel absolutely on fire to go out and challenge the world."
The recent selection of Board of Trustees Chairman Ed Haldeman '70 as chief executive officer of Freddie Mac is an example of the potential impact of Dartmouth graduates, Kim said. While Haldeman is a talented investment strategist, he is being called in to work on "ethical problems" at Freddie Mac, Kim said.
"Everyone is going to want Dartmouth graduates to join their organization," Kim said.
One audience member asked Kim how Dartmouth is dealing with the economic recession, particularly in light of the $700 million drop in the College's endowment over two fiscal quarters.
The College is reevaluating the importance of various programs in order to get a better sense of what must retain funding, Kim said.
"We have to transform the way we execute around our social goals are we taking advantage of everything?" he said.
Kim added that, in addition to donations from parents and alumni, he hopes that others will choose to donate to the College.
"Over the next few years, I'm going to do everything in my power to convince the world that the one place you can really give to change the world is Dartmouth College," he said.
Kim has spent the first few weeks in office meeting with members of the Dartmouth community and gaining a better understanding of the College, he said.
"I feel that so strongly because I personally misunderstood Dartmouth before I started studying it," he said.
Kim's speech was one of the first events of Sophomore Family Weekend, which began on Friday.
This year, 651 people from 285 distinct Dartmouth families came to campus, Lee said.
In 2008, 978 people from 371 families attended Sophomore Family Weekend, according to 2009 weekend co-chair Stephenie Lee '11.
She attributed the decrease in participation to financial concerns caused by the economic downturn that caused families to rethink their budgets.
Popular events included karaoke night in Lone Pine Tavern, the marshmallow roast on Collis Porch and "the Talented Class of 2011," which featured student performance groups, she said.
One new event this year was "Partnering For Success," which offered students a opportunity to network with their classmates' parents and was run through Career Services. Lee said the event was very successful, "especially for an 8 a.m. event."
Lee and co-chair Jordan Hasty '11 began planning for the weekend in the spring by going through schedules of previous years' weekends and looking at which events had been most successful, Lee said.
Class Council President Alex Maceda '11 and Linda Kennedy, assistant Dean of Student Life, also helped with plan the weekend and secure funding.
"We also looked at what we had done for First-Year Family Weekend this year," Lee said. "[Assistant Director of the Collis Center and Student Activities Brian Dye] is new, so he kind of had a new perspective."
The goal of the weekend was to make sure parents could experience everything campus has to offer, according to Lee.
"Sophomore summer is really unique to the Dartmouth experience because we're the only class here," Lee said.
Sophomore Family Weekend allows parents to experience Dartmouth once their students are accustomed to the College, Lee said.
"First-Year Family Weekend is great but a lot of students aren't so familiar with campus and there's a lot of upperclassmen wandering about who parents don't know," Lee said. "Sophomore Family Weekend is a much more intimate environment for parents to hang out. That makes it special."
