The recent unrest in American colleges and universities includes Dartmouth where, on November 12 some 250 members of Black Lives Matter marched through Baker Library, floor by floor, chanting slogans, shouting vulgar epithets and abusive personal insults at studying students. No injuries reported. President Hanlon emailed the student body that appropriate actions would be applied to guilty parties since such behavior is antithetical to Dartmouth’s values and goals. Later, in a letter to the Dartmouth community, Hanlon stressed that the College strives to balance freedom of speech with strong community values of civil discourse, always keeping in mind that college is a place where open inquiry and free debate about difficult and sometimes uncomfortable ideas must thrive.

Dartmouth is considering administrative changes to create a school of graduate and advanced studies that would align the College’s research capabilities with its Ivy League peers. It would serve approximately 1,000 master’s and doctorate students and would not include Tuck, Thayer and Geisel. Dartmouth has long ranked first or second nationally in undergraduate teaching and this new plan will not diminish that strength.

Twenty million dollars has recently been received to establish two more interdisciplinary groups, called academic clusters: Digital humanities (what it means to be a human in the digital age) and neuroscience will join the existing clusters computation science, decision science, healthcare delivery and globalization and society. Each endows three professorships and provides funds for research.

In October Dartmouth received a $925,000 grant as part of a $28.1 million national effort to create and foster cyberattack-resistant systems for electric power and the oil and gas industries.

Tuck School reports that in 2015 the median salary for graduates was $125,000, up 8 percent, and that 99 percent of graduates had jobs within three month of receiving their diplomas. Both are new records.

We sadly report the deaths of classmates Martin Borofsky, Allan R. Hardie, Frank C. Myers and Joaquin J. Vallarino Jr. Our condolences to their families. We are also sad to report the death of professor John Rassias, Dartmouth’s famed language teacher.

—John M. Jenkins, 80 Lyme Road, Apt. 304, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-2757; mmjenkins@kahres.org