COLLEGE PRESIDENT
On March 23, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Kim to head the World Bank. Although many praised the choice of a leader with a health background, some critics voiced concerns about Kim's relative inexperience in finance. Following Obama's announcement, Kim visited eight countries on a "listening tour," meeting with international finance ministers to promote his candidacy.
Kim, along with Columbia University professor and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and former World Bank managing director and Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, interviewed with the Bank's board of directors for the position over a three-day period before the Bank voted to elect its president. In his interview, Kim said he would use his experience as the co-founder of Partners in Health and the director of the HIV/AIDS division at the World Health Organization to challenge the status quo and bring a "global orientation" to his leadership.
On April 16, the World Bank's directors announced that Kim had been selected to serve as the Bank's 12th president by a majority vote. He will replace the outgoing president, Robert Zoellick, on June 30.
Kim is the College's 17th president and the first Asian-American president of an Ivy League institution. Kim, who will be leaving the College after two years and 10 months in office, will have served the second-shortest presidential tenure in the College's history.
Following Kim's confirmation to the Bank, the Board of Trustees appointed College Provost Carol Folt as the College's interim president on April 17. Folt, who began teaching at the College in 1983, has served as a senior administrator since 2001, when she was named dean of graduate studies. She became dean of the faculty in 2006 and assumed the role of provost in 2009. Folt will assume the position of interim president on July 1.
On May 25, the College announced the members of the 17-member Presidential Search Committee, which includes Committee Chair Bill Hellman '80, Vice Chair Diana Taylor '77, Jim Coulter '82, Denise Dupre '80, Annette Gordon-Reed '81, John Rich '80 and ex-officio member and Chairman of the Board Stephen Mandel '78 as trustee members. Members representing the College's faculty include Tuck School of Business professor Ron Adner, biology professor Mary Lou Guerinot, environmental studies professor Anne Kapuscinski, Dean of Graduate Studies and Thayer School of Engineering professor Brian Pogue, Geisel School of Medicine psychiatry professor Alan Green, music professor Steven Swayne and government professor William Wohlforth. Emily Bakemeier '82, deputy provost for the arts and humanities at Yale University, and Dean of Libraries Jeffrey Horrell are also members of the committee. Student Body President Suril Kantaria '13 is the committee's only student member.
HAZING ALLEGATIONS
On Jan. 25, The Dartmouth published an opinion column by Andrew Lohse '12 titled "Telling the Truth," which accused the administration of ignoring incidents of hazing in the College's Greek system. Lohse alleged that Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity forced its pledges to "swim in a kiddie pool full of vomit, urine, fecal matter, semen and rotten food products," "eat omelets of vomit" and "vomit on other pledges," among other abuses. Lohse wrote that his experiences during pledge term were "not the exception but rather the norm."
The Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Office charged 27 members of SAE with hazing violations during the 2009 and 2011 fall pledge terms after Lohse, a former SAE member, submitted formal statements to the College accusing the fraternity of hazing. All of the charges were dropped on March 30 after physical evidence proved that some of Lohse's allegations were false.
On March 28, Rolling Stone published Janet Reitman's article "Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy," which profiled Lohse and addressed his allegations of hazing at the College. The piece relied on Lohse as its primary source and included interviews with current students, professors and alumni. Reitman's article described the College as the "most insular school in the Ivy League," where "fraternities control the social life" and sexual assault is "rampant."
In April, the Organizational Adjudication Committee sentenced SAE to a three-term probationary period for hazing and disorderly conduct and serving alcohol to underage students. In May, the College announced the creation of the 12-person Committee on Student Safety and Accountability. COSSA is chaired by Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson and is tasked with "improving student safety and well-being" through combating the issues of sexual assault, binge drinking and hazing.
PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
On Oct. 11, 2011, eight of the 10 declared Republican presidential candidates attended a presidential primary debate held in Spaulding Auditorium. The debate, sponsored by the College, The Washington Post, Bloomberg News and local news outlet WBIN-TV, featured a round table discussion that focused heavily on the economy. Broadcast journalist Charlie Rose and Washington Post political correspondent Karen Tumulty co-moderated the debate.
Candidates largely focused their attention toward former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's health care legislation.
A watch party featuring a live streaming of the debate was held in Leede Arena. After the debate, students were able to interact with Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former Gov. Jon Hunstman, R-Utah, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., who each addressed the crowd in Leede Arena. All three candidates circled around the perimeter of the stage area to shake hands with students and pose for pictures with the audience. Instead of making an appearance at Leede Arena, Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, spoke at Beta Alpha Omega fraternity. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., Cain and Romney did not make stops to speak with students on campus.
RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION
The redesigned Class of 1953 Commons opened on Sept. 3, 2011, after the College used a $12-million gift from the Class of 1953 to renovate the former Thayer Dining Hall. The new space houses 1,093 seats, an increase from its previous capacity of 700.
After scrapping plans to complete renovations by Winter term 2012, the College plans to begin renovating the basement of '53 Commons after Commencement. The basement, which will feature a 2,700-square-foot multi-use room, will be completed by Fall term 2012 and will be open 24 hours a day.
The Class of 2015 was the first incoming class to have the SmartChoice meal plan system, which replaced the Declining Balance Account system. Under the SmartChoice system, students can use meal swipes to eat an all-you-can-eat meal at '53 Commons or purchase prepared meals at Collis, Courtyard Cafe or Novack. The meal plans instituted for the 2011-2012 academic year offered the options of 20, 14 and 5 meals a week, which included $75, $125 and $875 worth of DBA, respectively.
In December, the Hanover Inn closed for expansion and renovation, which will cost the College approximately $41 million. Dana Lowe, a 53-year-old resident of Morrisville, Vt., died from injuries as a result of an accident at the construction site on March 13.
The College announced the naming of the new visual arts center to the Black Family Visual Arts Center, in honor of Leon Black '73 and his wife Debra, who contributed $48 million to the center's construction on March 29.
CRISPIN SCOTT
On Jan. 7, Crispin Scott '13 was found dead in a Barcelona apartment while studying abroad on the Academy of Liberal and Beaux-Arts program run by Portland State University. Scott, who was studying mathematics at the College, was a member of Phi Delta Alpha fraternity and the Dartmouth men's rugby team.
Spanish police later arrested Oscar Vincente Castro Cadeno, a 41-year-old from Ecuador accused of fatally drugging Scott, on homicide charges. Castro was also the landlord of the building in which Scott was found. While searching Castro's home, police found over 100 photographs of 20 young men who appeared to be unconscious and may have been sexually assaulted. As the investigation continues, officers have only located one of Castro's victims, who had previously accused him of sexual assault in 2009.
VANDALISM AND HARASSMENT INCIDENTS
On Nov. 6, several homophobic and derogatory phrases were discovered scrawled on the windows of the ground floor common room in the Fahey-McLane Residence Hall, prompting questions about the safety of the College's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Safety and Security officials interviewed students who had used their Dartmouth cards to swipe into the building in the early hours of Nov. 6 to identify who had defaced the windows. No student, however, was identified as the perpetrator of the vandalism.
An incident involving homophobic slurs directed toward two students who are members of the LGBT community occurred on May 5. On May 11, the College received a report of racist remarks directed at a student. Both incidents were investigated by Safety and Security, the dean of the College and the Office of Pluralism and Leadership. Kim notified the campus of the two incidents in an email sent on May 11.
RESIGNATIONS OF ADVISORS TO MINORITY COMMUNITIES
After a five-month tenure at the College, Assistant Dean of Student Life and advisor to black students Quantrell Willis resigned from the Office of Pluralism and Leadership on Nov. 21. Willis attributed his departure to family issues.
On March 3, Assistant Dean and Advisor to Asian and Asian-American Students Nora Yasumara announced that she was resigning from OPAL in order to accept a part-time position with Iora Health. Yasumara officially left her position on April 2 after 13 years at the College.
Both positions remain vacant. OPAL plans to hire a permanent advisor to black students by July 1 and a pan-Asian advisor by Aug. 1.
HANOVER BUSINESSES
Three Hanover stores JuliAna clothing boutique, the Gap and Helium Shoes closed this spring. JuliAna closed in May after its lease expired. Owner Bayle Drubel did not renew the lease of the store she had opened with her daughters because they have since moved on to other careers. The Gap closed on April 22. Gap employees and representatives declined to comment on the reasons that led to the store's closing. A J. Crew store is expected to open in the same location.
Helium Shoes closed after Morgan Morano, owner of Morano Gelato, expressed interest in expanding her store. Stephanie Sutter, the owner of Helium Shoes, decided to close her shop instead of relocating her business. Morano Gelato's renovations, which doubled the store's size, were finished on May 25.
Murphy's on the Green owner Nigel Leeming opened another restaurant in Hanover, 3 Guys Basement Barbeque, which began serving customers on April 17. The restaurant is located in a space previously occupied by 5 Olde Nugget Alley and serves traditional Memphis-inspired barbeque.
Former Gusanoz delivery man and beloved campus figure Jim "Gusanoz" Dupuis died on May 5 in Montreal most likely of natural causes. He was 56 years old.
STUDENT ASSEMBLY
After a close election on April 16, Suril Kantaria '13 was named student body president, defeating Erin Klein '13, J.T. Tanenbaum '13, Rachel Wang '13 and Max Hunter '13. Julia Danford '13 was elected student body vice president over Sahil Joshi '13, Callista Womick '13 and Troy Dildine '13.
Kantaria and Danford campaigned together on an official ticket, though students voted for each position separately. Kantaria and Danford ran on a platform that included bringing campus leadership into Student Assembly, updating the Assembly's Course Guide and creating a freshman mentorship program.
Kantaria and Danford assumed their positions after former Student Body President Max Yoeli '12 and Vice President Amrita Sankar '12 stepped down at the General Assembly meeting on April 24.
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Dartmouth Medical School was renamed the Geisel School of Medicine in honor of Theodor Geisel '25, better known as world-famous children's author and illustrator Dr. Seuss, and his wife Audrey Geisel in an official ceremony on May 18. The Geisel family is currently the largest donor to Dartmouth in the College's history. Audrey Geisel, now 90 years old, was not present at the ceremony, but the event was streamed to her home in La Jolla, Calif.
CLASS OF 2016
The College admitted 2,180 students out of a total 23,110 applicants for the Class of 2016, representing a record-low acceptance rate of 9.4 percent. The total number of accepted students includes 465 students who had been admitted through the College's early decision process in December.
A total of 1,080 students accepted the College's offer of admission to the Class of 2016 as of the May 1 deadline for accepting admission, signifying a yield of 49.5 percent. Since the Admissions Office aims to enroll a class of 1,100 to 1,110 students, some students will be accepted off the College's waitlist. Around 10 percent of the students who have enrolled are international students, an increase from past years.
TUITION AND FINANCIAL AID
In March, the Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 4.9 percent and the cost of room, board and fees by 4.8 percent, bringing the total cost of attendance to $57,998. For the 2011-2012 academic year, Dartmouth was the second most expensive Ivy League institution after Columbia University.
The Board approved an update to the College's financial aid policies, raising the no-loan threshold for financial aid applicants from $75,000 to $100,000. A $934-million operating budget and $54-million capital budget for fiscal year 2013 were also passed at the Board's termly meeting.
