College President Sian Leah Beilock announced on Tuesday plans to expand Dartmouth’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program during the annual Veteran’s Day Recognition Breakfast on Nov. 11. In her address, Beilock also shared goals to double the number of undergraduate veterans and build a university-wide community for military-affiliated students, staff and faculty.
“At Dartmouth, we want to be leaders in recruiting and creating those committed to service through the military, government and other careers,” Beilock said. “We want to ensure that their experience and voices are heard in our classrooms because it makes us all better.”
Dartmouth has the smallest ROTC presence among the Ivy League colleges, with an average of 15 to 20 cadets enrolled in the program at a time, according to Dartmouth News. This year, however, the total ROTC program doubled to 32 cadets, 27 of whom are enrolled from the classes of 2028 and 2029.
According to Dartmouth ROTC program director Ian Short, the 2029 freshman ROTC cohort is the largest freshman class since the Vietnam War.
“With the College’s focus, led by [President Beilock’s] office, on expanding the number of both undergraduate veterans and ROTC members, we’ve seen a dramatic rise [in the presence of ROTC],” Short said. “[Beilock’s] commitment to students being admitted to ROTC and programs like expanding the staff rights show that the college really does notice and care about this portion of the community.”
Founder and executive committee member of the Dartmouth Uniformed Service Alumni Nathan Bruschi ’10 presented the James Wright Award for Distinguished Service to Air Force veteran Thomas E. Byrne ’55, Tu’56 and Marine Corps veteran Peter “Mike” Gish ’49 during the breakfast.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Bruschi said that showcasing the stories of Dartmouth alumni can encourage more students to pursue service.
“Dartmouth has a manifest destiny when it comes to educating students to do public service,” Bruschi said. “One of the missions we have at the Dartmouth Uniformed Service Alumni is to inspire students to serve through the incredible stories of the alumni that have come before them and done great work.”
Bruschi said the Dartmouth Uniformed Service Alumni wants to show students that there are “many pathways” to serve — not just the armed forces.
“[Byrne] was in the Air Force, but he spent the rest of his life improving Dartmouth, improving Hanover and becoming an absolute pillar of his community,” Bruschi explained
He also highlighted Gish, who served as a combat painter, as a figure Dartmouth students can look up to.
“Who would have thought that if you were interested in the visual arts, that military service can be this incredibly powerful way to serve,” Bruschi said. “But through [Gish’s] work, we know that that’s possible. We hope that our students see a bit of themselves in the awardees and believe that public service is something they should one day pursue.”
Dartmouth currently offers ROTC only for service in the U.S. Army. The Navy and Marine Corps ROTC branches are currently “not pursuing expansion” to Dartmouth, according to College spokesperson Jana Barnello. However, Barnello described the nature of collaboration between the College and the Navy and Marines in her statement.
“For students affiliated with the Navy or Marine Corps, we coordinate with the Army ROTC program to include them in training and leadership activities whenever possible, and we proudly recognize them alongside their peers during the commissioning ceremony at Commencement,” Barnello wrote.
