The Green was in its full summer glory when I pulled into Hanover in late June. Students sunned themselves across from McNutt while, nearby, wide-eyed families of prospective students took in the iconic expanse of grass. Near Baker Library, dozens of sophomores hopped off the Dartmouth Coach, reporting for Sophomore Summer with bags trailing behind them.

For many of you, this scene is deeply familiar. For me, though, it marked the opening of a new adventure after decades of working in Boston. For the first time in 26 years, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine has a new editor: me.

I feel like one of the truly fortunate people in American journalism to be invited to lead such a respected publication. Under my predecessor, Sean Plottner, DAM became one of the best college alumni magazines in the country—witty, insightful, and impeccably designed, and with plenty of awards to prove it. As the saying goes, people like Sean can only be succeeded, never replaced. I accept that.

The change in leadership comes during a period of high uncertainty for higher education, and it creates an unusual opportunity for DAM to connect even more deeply with our audience. Some of the nation’s top schools face billions of dollars in federal funding cuts, and campuses have been sharply divided by student protest. Dartmouth is better positioned than many to withstand the challenges, but it remains vulnerable, and there has perhaps never been a time when it was more important to keep Dartmouth alumni fully informed. We at DAM know we need to rise to meet the moment.

By way of introduction, I grew up in Maine and graduated from Bowdoin College, where we always looked on Dartmouth as a kindred spirit in the North Woods. I spent much of my career at The Boston Globe where, at different times, I led the Spotlight investigative team and directed the paper’s coverage of medicine, science, and higher education. Two years ago, I left newspapering to help my son, a prominent YouTube influencer and podcaster with the stage name of MrBallen. I’ve had a blast creating “strange, dark, and mysterious” scripts for my son’s videos and podcasts, but we both knew I needed to return to my first love, journalism. So here I am.

As I embark on this new and exciting role at DAM, I invite you, our readers, to let us know what you like about the magazine—as well as what you’d like to change. Is there something DAM should do more of? Or less? I’m learning my Dartmouth history—I can identify the Wentworth Bowl, and I know that Dartmouth has beaten Harvard 48 times in football—but you are the real experts, and I welcome your guidance as we plot our course into the future.

Thank you to everyone in the Dartmouth community for making me feel so welcome. I look forward to meeting many of you before too long. For now, I am just thrilled to get started.