Sunde listed Dartmouth Outing Club trips and student relationships as examples of strong community, but primarily focused on pre-health students in the Nathan Smith Society helping each other prepare for medical school interviews by sharing questions.
Following negative press last year regarding hazing allegations at the College, Dartmouth appears to be shifting its image back into the sphere of academics, global contributions and research. Last year, an article published in Rolling Stone lambasted Dartmouth's Greek system, addressing allegations of hazing at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity made by Andrew Lohse '12.
"Dartmouth, very unfairly, took a black eye from the Andrew Lohse press," Alumni Association president John Daukas '84 said. "A need Dartmouth does have right now is to give itself a reputation it deserves."
DEVELOPING AN INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY
Within the past year, the College redesigned its website, initiated a search for a vice president of marketing and appointed former marketing firm CEO Mitchell Kurz '73 to the Board of Trustees.
The College hired Digital Pulp to remake its website and released the site's first update last fall. The new site features larger photographs and a square modular design.
Interim director of strategic projects and initiatives Sarah Memmi acknowledged the site's need for functionality for its internal users but said Dartmouth intentionally focused the top level of its new website on external users.
"Dartmouth is one of the world's leading educational institutions," she said. "The website needs to reflect that and communicate that. In our previous website, we really were falling short on that front."
The College's newest trustee, Kurz, formerly served as president and chief operating officer of a large advertising company, Young and Rubicam, for 24 years and has significant experience in marketing and communications. "Dartmouth, while it has a terrific reputation, can have an even stronger reputation, particularly internationally," Daukas said. "I think having someone on the Board who has an extremely successful career in marketing is a big plus."
President-elect of the Alumni Council Mark Davis '81 Tu '84 helped nominate Kurz for the position and said his marketing background, along with other traits, made him an attractive candidate.
Another administrative personnel addition comes from the President's Office, which is currently seeking candidates for a senior vice president position for marketing and communications. Tuck Dean Paul Danos will run the search committee, which was formed two months ago.
"Telling the world the positive, powerful story of Dartmouth is extremely important," Danos said. "It takes an intelligent, devoted person to tell this story."
Danos said the College is looking for a candidate who he describes as strategic, a crisis manager and a storyteller.
"We, as an institution, have to get credit for the excellence we have and the care that we take," Danos said.
GLOBAL PRESENCE
In anticipation of Dartmouth's 250th anniversary in 2019, former College President Jim Yong Kim initiated the strategic planning process in 2009 to advance the College's mission, improve its standing in the U.S. and the world and guarantee the caliber of a Dartmouth education. Nine working groups, composed of administrators, faculty and staff, released reports on March 9.
Global Dartmouth, a Strategic Planning working committee, evaluated Dartmouth's reputation at the international level and made recommendations to improve its standing as a leader in higher education abroad.
The group recommended that the College require every undergraduate students have at least one "significant global experience" to graduate, create "hubs" in cities around the world for international programming and called for the renaming of Dartmouth College to Dartmouth University for international audiences.
"In French, college' means junior high school," said Lynn Higgins, associate dean of faculty for international studies and a member of the Global Dartmouth working group. "In France, I have to refer to Dartmouth as a university or otherwise people misunderstand what our college is. It's just a translation problem."
Dartmouth's international influence hinges on both providing global opportunities to students, like foreign study programs, and promoting the faculty's international accomplishments.
"Dartmouth's global activities are not as well known as the accomplishments merit," Higgins said. "I think we need to be more visible."
INCREASED ACADEMIC FOCUS
This spring, tour guides walk groups of prospective students and their parents along a changed campus route, which excludes Webster Avenue but includes a view of the Life Sciences Center and athletic facilities.
The 2013 tour guide handbook asks students to share anecdotes and experiences relating to faculty accessibility, research and study abroad. Although guidance on discussing Greek life is more structured, students are invited to share positive experiences with Greek life.
Guides have several paragraphs to recite, including statements that say while Greek organizations are an option for students, it is not an "all-encompassing force."
In contrast, the 2010 tour guide handbook called Greek life at the College "a strong system" of 29 Greek letter organizations and two undergraduate societies and cited that over half of eligible students are involved in Greek letter organizations.
Ankan Dhal '13, a unaffiliated tour guide, called the new route the most complete of the three redesigns proposed. He said he believes tour guides should share information about Greek life and other campus organizations in order to give prospective students a more "complete idea of Dartmouth culture."
The additions to the tour route better reflect prospective students' academic and extracurricular interests, dean of admissions and financial aid Maria Laskaris said.
She said the decision to eliminate Webster Avenue from the tour is not tied to a changed academic focus of the tours.
This year, programming over Dimensions weekend included four academic showcases, which took place during classes Friday. A student research presentation, suggested by students was added this year, and an Office of Pluralism and Leadership-sponsored events about myths, realities and legends.
"We've tried to be very deliberate in reaching out to folks around campus, in the academic world and the student support world, to find the kinds of programming we need," Laskaris said.
Garrett Watumull '16, a Dimensions show crew member, said skits and speakers addressed academics and research with a greater focus this year.
"Our lyrics are more catered to that feel, instead of making a sexual innuendo, we make a gesture toward academic success," he said.
Dhal, who performed in the Dimensions show in 2010, said he did not notice a changed focus when he previewed the show with other former performers.
LOOKING FORWARD
The protest at this year's Dimensions show and an administration-initiated cancellation of classes to address threats against the protesters have places Dartmouth back in the national media spotlight. A Bloomberg article reported that Dartmouth cancelled classes Wednesday in an attempt to "repair its image."
Laskaris said the admissions office sent an email to all admitted students to alert them of canceled classes.
"This action was prompted by a series of threatening and abusive online posts used to target particular students in the wake of the protest that disrupted the Dimensions Welcome Show on Friday evening," Laskaris wrote in the letter. "It was necessary for the community as a whole to have the opportunity to learn about all that has transpired and to discuss further action that will help us live up to our mission."
The letter closed by urging accepted students to enroll, calling the Class of 2017 Dartmouth's future.
Laskaris said the College will continue to emphasize student resources that go beyond the classroom, including advising and student health, through information sessions, campus tours and brochures.
"We will continue to respond in a forthright, genuine manner to any questions we get about the reasons classes were canceled," she said.
Despite the College's recent marketing efforts, shifting an institution's identity in the competitive Northeast higher education market often proves difficult, said Bob Sevier, senior vice president for strategy at Stamats, a higher education marketing company.
"If you have less time, you're going to spend money," he said.
