Canada Gives Address
Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit that facilitates educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Harlem, served as the main speaker during Commencement proceedings on June 9. Canada, whose organization was featured positively in the popular 2010 documentary Waiting for Superman, also chairs the board of the Children’s Defense Fund. His appearance marked the second consecutive Commencement to feature an education speaker—last year Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp spoke. “The education theme of 2012 and 2013 is perfect,” said College trustee Mitchell Kurz ’73, who has served on the Harlem Children’s Zone board since 1990. Not so fast, said some disappointed students when the announcement was made in May. “How come Harvard got Oprah?” was a common refrain.  Honorary degrees were bestowed on Canada and six others: Susan Desmond-Hellmann, an oncologist and chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco; Lou Gerstner Jr. ’63, former head of IBM; Judith Jamison, artistic director emerita of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Bill King Jr. ’63, an attorney and former chair of Dartmouth’s board of trustees; Alanis Obomsawin, a Canadian filmmaker and activist; and Subra Suresh, former director of the National Science Foundation.

Lasher Hired
New Senior Vice President for Advancement Robert Lasher ’88 starts on July 1. Most recently the deputy museum director of external relations at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Lasher will oversee fundraising and alumni relations. He is expected to initiate a capital campaign in the near future. Lasher recently directed SFMOMA’s strategy and development of a $610-million expansion. “It is an honor to return to Dartmouth,” says the former history major.

Under the Lights
Despite the installation of lights at Memorial Stadium in 2011, they will shine for only one football game again this season: the home opener against Holy Cross, on September 28, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Town of Hanover permits allow for up to five evening events each year at the stadium, but since their debut the lights have illuminated just one night game per season.

Future Think
It’s unknown what President Phil Hanlon ’77 will do with the strategic planning reports he inherits from interim President Carol Folt, who becomes chancellor at the University of North Carolina in July. The reports are aimed at articulating “a compelling and aspirational vision for Dartmouth at its 250th anniversary in 2019,” according to the College’s website. There’s certainly no shortage of interesting and controversial ideas in the nine documents, all of which are available online. Here are a few:

• Eliminate grades for first-year students so they can focus on learning rather than final grades.
• Offer a one-year “genius award” of funding to outstanding Dartmouth graduates who can use the money to research a topic of their choice, with the expectation they would return to campus to present their work to undergraduates.
• Fund competitive proposals for internal faculty sabbaticals for the purpose of faculty professional development.
• Create a school of advanced studies that focuses on advancing research, scholarship and creativity for faculty and students.
• Use the name “Dartmouth University” to refer to the institution as a whole, and use “Dartmouth College” to refer to the undergraduate schools of arts and sciences.

Time to Reflect
Many students, alumni and College observers were alarmed that interim President Carol Folt cancelled classes on April 24 in response to 15 students disrupting a Dimensions weekend event April 19. The cancellation was “prompted by a series of threatening and abusive online posts used to target particular students in the wake of the protest,” Folt and seven other administrators wrote in a campus-wide e-mail at 6:30 p.m. on the 23rd. Instead of classes, the day featured faculty meetings, a variety of teach-ins, guest speakers and an all-campus lunch. A peek at Dartmouth history reveals that the move wasn’t unprecedented:

May 5-8, 1970
President John Kemeny suspends classes to allow for discussion and reflection following the Kent State shootings.

March 8, 1979
President Kemeny orders a moratorium on classes for a day of speeches and discussion after the Afro-American Society and Native Americans at Dartmouth protested racism by painting a snow sculpture red and black.

January 24, 1986
President David McLaughlin ’54 and the executive committee of faculty suspend classes for a series of discussions of racism, violence and disrespect for diversity after students demolished shanties built on the Green by students seeking College divestment in South African companies due to apartheid.

No Vacancy
Say goodbye to another campus-area landmark: The Chieftain Motor Inn is closing. The home to numerous fraternity and sorority formals and visiting alumni will shutter its doors in September. The 10-acre riverfront property has been purchased by Kendal at Hanover, the retirement community. Plans for the site have yet to be announced.

Collis Gets Makeover
A refurbished TV lounge and an overhaul of its café are the most recent renovations at Collis student center. The café transformation was completed during winter term, making the always busy dining location larger, brighter—and more popular (and crowded) than ever.

Bo Knows
History major Bo Patterson ’15 says he’s learned more on playing fields at Dartmouth than in classrooms. Predictably, the unusual dual athlete—a receiver who led the football team as a freshman, a standout center fielder for the baseball team—has a schedule that leaves him little time for recreation beyond the occasional video game with his roommate. “If I’m not busy something’s wrong,” he says. The day after the baseball team wrapped up its season with losses at Columbia, the Charleston, South Carolina, native was deep into his football playbook, prepping for a rejiggered offense come fall. He’s especially motivated after a disappointing sophomore season in which he struggled back from a hamstring injury suffered playing baseball last summer. “I’d never been hurt in my life. Being injured made me realize how much I love to play, made me cherish every practice. It also brought me closer to God.”

Coaching Changes
The women’s basketball team and the men’s soccer team have new coaches. On the hoops front, Belle Koclanes comes to Dartmouth after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Washington, D.C.’s American University and a decade in the collegiate basketball world. Koclanes replaces Chris Wielgus, whose March resignation ended a 28-year tenure that included 12 of Dartmouth’s 17 Ivy League titles and made Wielgus the winningest basketball coach—men’s or women’s—in Dartmouth history. “There is an incredible tradition here in Hanover,” says Koclanes, who hopes to restore a “championship mindset” and create “a new culture.” Meanwhile Chad Riley has been promoted from assistant to head coach of the men’s soccer team. “I’m certainly honored to lead the team through this centenary year,” he says.