Class Note 1945. Has there ever been a tougher time to be a college president? During your time at Dartmouth, when World War II was raging perhaps, but there is no doubt that the climate in higher education today is exceedingly challenging. Hats off to President Sian Beilock for standing firm for the values we cherish at Dartmouth. Two of her values I admire most I want to share with you. The first is that every professor at the College should teach students how to think, not what to think. A dear friend who teaches in the Middle Eastern studies department says his goal is to have the term end without one student in his class knowing what his own opinions are. He wants to have given them all the facts he can to enable them to form their own thoughts about the subject material. The second concept President Beilock often talks about is that every academic institution should create “brave spaces,” not safe spaces. She wants to challenge the students at Dartmouth today to take on tough topics and do so with people who may have radically different opinions than their own. I send best wishes from Hanover for the upcoming holidays. I hope you will be celebrating with your family and friends with much for which to be thankful. Cheers!
—Martha Johnson Beattie ’76, 6 North Balch St., Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 667-7611; mbeattie76@gmail.com