Dartmouth mission: “Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.” So how does the College teach responsible leadership? That is a question several of our classmates asked six years ago. Other questions were: How can we leverage the next generation to make a difference in the world? How do we give the students the tools to do this? Will these tools give Dartmouth graduates an advantage in the marketplace over their contemporaries? This is the first of two Class Notes discussing the legacy our class of 1964 gave the College, its students and the communities they will serve once graduated. A number of classmates were involved at different times and in different ways to create what is now the Class of 1964 Leadership Initiative, our class legacy to the College. The initiative’s goal is to provide the answers to the aforementioned questions by providing leadership programs through the Rockefeller Center (Rocky Center) and department of athletics’ Dartmouth Peak Performance. While there have been news blurbs on the initiative recently from the College and solicitations last year for contributions to support it, those involved in the development of the initiative as a concept and reality have not been adequately recognized. The unique legacy this leaves the College, its students and alumni has not been fully explained. 


In 2008 Brad Evans and Fritz Corrigan had a meeting about the leadership element of the College’s mission statement. Fritz and wife Glenda visited the College that summer to assess what and to what extent it was delivering on its mission of developing responsible leaders. At dinner with Jim and Susan Wright they shared their conversations with members of the faculty and administration and their opinion that the College could do more in this area. Thereafter, Brad approached Ron Schram and Rocky. A meeting was held in April 2009 in Boston with Ron, Fritz, Carol Folt and Dennis Brown of the development office. Ron and Fritz agreed on a sizeable, 20-year grant from the Corrigan family to fund a major increase in the Rocky Center’s capability to develop leaders. The grant was formalized in early June, with the formal announcement on June 12, 2009. 


At the time Ron Schram was chair of the Rocky Center board. Ron, demonstrating by example his own leadership skills, took it upon himself to author a 45-page white paper with input from Andrew Samwick, Rocky Center director, to outline the views of how the Rocky Center board could implement this concept. The board approved the concept and then Ron appointed a committee of our classmates to develop a legacy project for our 50th reunion. The committee included Bob Bartles, Fritz Corrigan, Sabin Danziger, Brad Evans, Sandy McGinnes as well as Ron. In the next Class Notes, I will complete the story. 


—Harvey Tettlebaum, 56295 Little Moniteau Road, California, MO 65018; (573) 761-1107; dartsecy64@gmail.com