John Bennett Chittick ’70
John Bennett Chittick ’70, Ed.D., passed away on April 5, 2017, on Ifalik in Micronesia. John had a long-term dream of returning to the Pacific atoll to start a global school to combat teenage AIDs worldwide since he had spent six months in Ifalik in his late 20s. Forty years later he reached his destination, though he was unable to fully realize his dream of building the school. John was raised in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, which he always called home. John came to Dartmouth from Deerfield Academy. He was a member of Sigma Nu Delta and the Glee Club. After graduation John earned a degree from MIT in film and video and a doctorate in education and adolescent psychology from Harvard. John was a tireless crusader for teen HIV/AIDS education and awareness around the world. In 1997 John founded a nonprofit, TeenAIDS-PeerCorps. John traveled the world spreading information using an educational tactic he termed “AIDS attacks”: impromptu and frank conversations with teens about peer pressure and AIDS avoidance. Always wearing one of his trademark Hawaiian shirts, he strived to provide young people on street corners, refugee camps, and villages in more than 100 countries with information about AIDS. John devoted his life and his savings to combat HIV/AIDS among young teens. Many of his Dartmouth classmates supported his cause financially.
