As part of an initiative to reinstate the "Great Issues" course, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak to the Dartmouth community at the inaugural Dartmouth Presidential Lecture on July 16 in Moore Theater, according to an e-mial sent to the Dartmouth community by College President Jim Yong Kim Friday afternoon. Kim will deliver the second lecture of the series on July 29.
The lecture series aims to "to provide the entire sophomore class with a shared experience that sparks campus-wide conversation and debate about important issues of the day," Kim wrote to students in the e-mail, and "can be viewed as a first step towards adapting aspects of the legendary Great Issues' concept instituted by [former College] President John Sloan Dickey."
Kim announced on June 25 that he would reinstate a program similar to the Great Issues lecture series instituted by former College President John Sloane Dickey, The Dartmouth previously reported. The series was formerly a mandatory course for seniors.
The lecture will occur at 11:15 on July 16, which coincides with the 11 class period. In his e-mail, Kim urged students to remember that "class attendance is [students'] first priority."
Bloomberg will draw from his personal experiences in public service and business in the lecture, according to a College press release. Kim will discuss the "habits of the mind" that help students succeed, the release stated.
"Mayor Bloomberg is the quintessential choice to open this lecture series," Bruce Sacerdote '90, economics professor and one of the series' planners, said in the release. "So many issues of the day relate to New York, including national security, the financial meltdown, financial regulation, school reform, and the polarization of the American political system."
Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University and received his MBA from Harvard School of Business. He founded Bloomberg LP a financial news and data company in 1981, according to his website.
Bloomberg was elected mayor in 2001 and is currently serving his third term. Bloomberg has garnered national media attention for shifting between political parties and enacting landmark legislation, such as the Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002. Bloomberg's longtime girlfriend, Diana Taylor '77, was selected to serve as a charter trustee on the Board of Trustees in 2008.
The Dartmouth Presidential Lecture program is part of Kim's plan over Summer term to improve student life, The Dartmouth previously reported."There are very few places in the United States where you have [the sophomore class] in residence by themselves," Kim said in a previous interview with The Dartmouth. "It's a fantastic opportunity and we want to understand how to make the most of it."
