Here is a quick summary, with more detail to follow.
Academic Affairs Committee
The morning began with committee meetings, so I was in Haldeman Center (across from KKK)for a presentation by Drew Galbraith, Senior Associate AD, who spoke about the Dartmouth Peak Performance program (DP2), specifically focusing on the Academic support leg of the stool. Our discussion explored how we might replicate some of the success of DP2 academic strategies to the general population of students. One example is the "Resident Experts" where upperclass students majoring in different subjects hold open office hours two nights per week to offer advice and academic support to athletes who may need help with a class in that major subject.
Second, we heard a presentation by Associate Dean Lynn Higgins about the ongoing curriculum review process. A few topics being discussed:
- Expanding hands on, experiential learning opportunities
- Looking a majors and minors, and how many double majors are being pursued
- Distributive requirements - how can we make the choice of distributives more "reflective and intentional"
- Schedule - How can the schedule optimize opportunities for class/course design, and time management (e.g. the campus is bigger so time to get to class is an issue)
- Enhancing international opportunities
- Integrating technology
Dean Higgins said that a draft report on the review will be made available to the Committee for review and comment when it is available.
President Phil Hanlon '77
President Hanlon recognized the Council for its 100 years of service to the College, and reinforced his desire to rely on the Council for advice to him and the Trustees on key issues. He highlighted a few of his priorities and values. Notably he discussed higher education's role in imparting: facts, knowledge and wisdom, recognizing that facts and knowledge are becoming free commodities thanks to the Internet, so higher ed must focus on imparting wisdomas its value added function. Confidence to take risksis an important part of wisdom. He also talked about his initiative to establish a Society of Fellows to bring more young post doc scholars to campus to inject energy and ideas into the campus.
President Hanlon also spoke about challenges of budgeting to reduce the costs of higher education to keep the cost/affordability to students within the general inflation rate. And he discussed his focus on Student Life initiatives.
Alumni Relations Office Activities
Following President Hanlon, we heard a presentation Jean Romeo about recent market research on Dartmouth's alumni population, including segmentation by age and gender, so gain data-driven, actionable insights into the passions, motivation and interests of different alumni.
Dean's Office Panel
Dean Charlotte Johnson spoke about several program areas, including changes to Student Advising, improvement to facilities for student life, First Year Orientation programs, and improvements to the Career Center. She and her staff also discussed Living Learning Communities, and the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative (DBI) to address high risk behaviors.
Career Center Changes
There is a new director of career counseling, now called the Center for Professional Development. There is general acknowledgement that the career center has been strong in placing students in certain industries (e.g. financial services) but has been very weak in supporting students interested in other career paths (e.g. teaching, social services). The new director is planning a program that includes 4 year engagement with students to help them understand their own values/strengths/interests, and how their choice of classes, activities and off campus programs can help them prepare for their career choice, and ultimately their job search.
Finally, we heard from the new CFO, Rick Mills, and Chief Investment Officer, Pam Peedin '89, who discussed the endowment and the college budget/balance sheet. They presented numbers on the costs of undergraduate education and how it is funded.
The dinner and evening program included Alumni Awards and Young Alumni Awards. An impressive showcase of Alumni stars.
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| Late October in Hanover - Can you remember the building? |
