Hello fellow members of the Great Class of 1979:

You may vaguely recall that you elected me to be your Class of ‘79 Representative to the Dartmouth Alumni Council.  Thank you for that honor!  I am very much looking forward to my first official meeting October 24-26 in Hanover.  If you will be in town that weekend, please let me know.

You may also recall that I attended the meeting last spring as an unofficial substitute for my predecessor, David Dowd.  Please join me in thanking David for his service to our class. (Clap! Clap! Clap!)   So I was fortunate to get a little head start on my new role.

I am pleased to report that I now have two committee assignments: 

·         Academic Affairs Committee, chaired by Vincent Pellegrini '77 '79GMS, and

·         Honorary Degrees Committee, chaired by Michael Gonnerman '65

The Committee on Academic Affairs serves as a principal interface between the faculty and the Alumni Council of Dartmouth College such that: a strong, ongoing relationship is established, alumni are kept informed about the curriculum and other elements of the Dartmouth academic experience, a platform is created for alumni to communicate with the faculty, and ways are explored for the faculty to benefit from the background and experiences of alumni and for the alumni to access faculty scholarship and other academic resources of the College.

The job of the Alumni Council Honorary Degrees Committee is to submit three to five names of alumni/ae worthy of consideration for an honorary degree from Dartmouth College to the College's Committee on Honorary Degrees, which makes the final decision. To be nominated, an individual must have attained intellectual distinction at national and international levels, reached professional achievement of the highest order, or made contributions of genuine significance in areas of public service or Dartmouth College involvement. The Alumni Council Honorary Degrees Committee is tasked with identifying and researching living undergraduate school alumni of this caliber and nominating the best among them.  If you know an alumnus/a you believe meets the high standards required for an honorary degree, please send that person's name and any information you'd like to share about him or her to me, or to Diana Lawrence '11MALS, secretary, Alumni Council Honorary Degrees Committee, 6068 Blunt Alumni Center, Hanover, NH  03755.  All nominations are confidential.

Committee work is where an Alumni Councilor has an opportunity to have a significant and original impact on what the Council provides to the Administration and to the Alumni body.  On Academic Affairs Committee, I am particularly interested in exploring the College’s strategies for on-line learning and off campus credit experiences.   And I am interested in hearing your suggestions for candidates for Honorary Degrees from among the Dartmouth alumni body.

The biggest part of my job is communication… listening to my constituency-- you the members of the Class of 79, and bringing your thoughts forward to the Council. 

Also, my job is to report back to you what I learn and do at Council meetings.  I will try to find creative ways to use email, Facebook, and my own Alumni Council blog to post information in ways that are helpful and hopefully interesting. 

The agenda for the Fall Council Meeting (207^th Council Session) includes an address by President Philip J. Hanlon '77, a session with Vice President for Alumni Relations Martha Beattie '76, various Committee meetings, and the participation of students and numerous other officials of the College.

So please… email me any questions or comments you may have about the College that you would like me to relay to the Council and to the Alumni Relations office.   If I don’t know the answer to your question, I have plenty of resources to help me find out.  If I am late in getting back to you, please send me a gentle and humorous reminder.

Again, I am thrilled to have this new adventure as your Alumni Council representative.  I enjoy working with our terrific group of Class Officers.

I look forward to hearing from you, and getting to know more of my classmates.

With very best regards,

David Van Wie