Today, the College announced Jim Frank ’65, Karen Frank and their son Daniel Frank ’92 have committed $25 million to support Dartmouth Dialogues — College President Sian Leah Beilock’s initiative which “fosters a culture of respectful and open exchange across differences,” according to the Dartmouth Dialogues website.
$10 million of the Frank family’s donation will endow the Dartmouth Dialogues executive director position, currently filled by Kristi Clemens. The position will be renamed the James Frank Family Executive Director of Dartmouth Dialogues. The remaining $15 million will match “dollar-to-dollar” every new endowment gift made to Dartmouth Dialogues by June 30, 2028, College spokesperson Amy Olson wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth.
“This means that for every dollar alumni, parents, and friends contribute to the program's endowment, the Franks will add an equal amount — effectively doubling the impact of each gift and securing Dartmouth Dialogues as a lasting part of the undergraduate experience,” Olson wrote.
Dartmouth News wrote in its article announcing the donation that it is “one of the largest ever made at an American university to support programming and education around civil discourse and the free exchange of ideas.”
Iris WeaverBell ’28 is a reporter and editor. She is from Portland, Ore., and is majoring in economics and minoring in public policy.
