College President Jim Yong Kim reiterated the central message of his inaugural address in a speech to alumni on Friday, emphasizing that he is fully committed to upholding Dartmouth's focus on undergraduate education and traditions like First-Year Trips. Kim gave a casual presentation, sharing photos and personal anecdotes with the audience of alumni in Hanover for Class Officers' Weekend.
Although he did not address his off-repeated theme of students' responsibility to effect social change, Kim again emphasized his commitment to supporting faculty and student research, while maintaining undergraduate education as the College's top priority.
"In order to be a great teacher, you have to be at the very forefront of your field," he said.
Kim likened himself to former College President Ernest Martin Hopkins, who faced criticism from alumni and donors in the 1930s for his commitment to research and the football team's losing record. Kim predicted that he may encounter opposition on similar issues as College president.
Kim also reaffirmed the College's commitment to supporting extracurricular activities in the arts and athletics, describing both as important components to the overall Dartmouth experience.
Kim, who played football in high school and volleyball as an undergraduate at Brown University, said that he learned many important lessons from playing sports as a student.
"I will always be a supporter of athletics here at Dartmouth, and I just believe that it does something for our young people that nothing else can," Kim said.
Kim praised the College's Greek system, relating, not for the first time, his experience at a dinner with Alpha Delta fraternity this summer.
"It's not the animal house that I'd heard of," he said. "These kids were very, very committed to being good citizens, not only at Dartmouth College, but also in Hanover."
Kim applauded the Dartmouth Outing Club's First-Year Trips, describing his interaction with Lodj Croo when he gave a speech at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge to freshmen returning from their five days in the wilderness.
"I have never seen the kind of intensity with which these upperclass women and men worked to simply make the new Class of 2013 feel welcome," he said.
Kim stressed that the College must also preserve its sense of tradition and history.
"Tradition matters a lot doing things with great energy and passion to make people part of a community is what every culture in the world strives for," he said. "Not every culture in the world is successful. We here at Dartmouth are successful."
Kim also reiterated his commitment to reviving the Great Issues course started by former College President John Sloan Dickey. By sharing an intellectual foundation, Kim said, students will be better able to understand themselves and their beliefs.
Alumni who attended the dinner generally lauded Kim's emphasis on preserving College tradition.
"He did a very good job of connecting history with moving forward," Tim Bixby '87, head alumni fund agent for the Class of 1987, said. "He knows more about the history of Dartmouth in six months than most of the rest of us know in 20 years."
