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Capital projects across campus helped bring the full intellectual assets of the Dartmouth community together like never before, providing new opportunities for experiential learning and fueling interdisciplinary collaboration.
Among them were the transformation of the West End of campus, the creation of a vibrant Arts district, and the establishment of new centers and institutes that are allowing Dartmouth to make big bets on discovery in a few select areas where it possesses the scale, resources and expertise to make a significant global impact, a centerpiece of President Hanlon's plan.
At the same time, investments in co-curricular facilities helped to enhance learning and leadership for students outside the classroom.
"The West End vision is so much more than brick and mortar. What's happening in the West End is a galvanizing of all the brain power on campus against some of the most pressing issues facing humankind."—President Hanlon
A centerpiece of the Call to Lead campaign, the West End transformation is the largest construction project in Dartmouth history, significantly advancing President Hanlon's vision to position Dartmouth as a global institution addressing some of the world's most complex issues and expand the Thayer School of Engineering to accommodate a historic level of student interest in building a strong engineering component into a liberal arts education. Anchored by the new Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society and the new Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center (ECSC), the West End is revolutionizing how we think, teach, learn and lead.
The Irving Institute, which strives to develop a sustainable global energy system for our future, is the largest of the interdisciplinary institutes to emerge from the campaign, and the only one so far to have a dedicated facility for teaching and research. Dartmouth's institutes channel pan-university resources and, uniquely to Dartmouth, provide undergraduates with a central role in their research work.
Joining the Irving Institute in the West End is the new $200 million Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center, which is accommodating expanded faculty for engineering and computer science, two of the fastest growing academic majors at Dartmouth, and co-locating these disciplines to spur collaboration. Importantly, all undergraduates will have the opportunity take at least one technology course and apply their tech knowledge to their future careers. Dedicated in the spring of 2022, the 160,000-square-foot facility is the second-largest academic building on campus.
The landmark ECSC structure will also house the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship, which serves Dartmouth students, faculty and alumni along the path from entrepreneurial thinking to entrepreneurial doing. The Magnuson Center provides co-curricular education and experiences, funding opportunities, and connection to Dartmouth's world-class alumni network and evolved out of a four-year pilot program supported by President Hanlon at the start of his presidency known as the DEN (Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network) Innovation Center and New Venture Incubator.
"We aspire for every Dartmouth graduate to be an imaginative thinker and creative leader. This makes the arts an essential aspect of any liberal arts experience."—President Hanlon
The expansion of the Hood Museum of Art (the Hood) and impending renovation of the Hopkins Center for the Arts (the Hop) are revitalizing Dartmouth's Arts district, the campus heart of creativity and artistic expression and experience.
One of the first completed projects of the Call to Lead campaign, the expanded and reimagined Hood reopened in 2019 to widespread public acclaim following a three-year renovation, boldly claiming its place as the world's preeminent teaching museum. In addition to expansive new gallery space, dedicated object study rooms enable Dartmouth students to experience art, first-hand, in a way that no other institution can match.
Next on the agenda is an equally dynamic renovation and expansion of the Hop to support more ambitious creation of cross-disciplinary work onsite by resident artists, students and faculty.
Taken together, the renovations of the Hood and the Hop are part of an $180 million investment in the Arts District, which also includes the Black Family Visual Arts center.
"Beginning with the creation of the Centennial Circle, we realized this was a transformative moment in Dartmouth's history, with our alumnae coming together to proudly proclaim their role in shaping the future of the College."—President Hanlon
Hailed as "the most ambitious women's fundraising effort" in Dartmouth history, the renovation of Dartmouth Hall is funded by a powerfully energized community of Dartmouth women who have raised over $25 million through the Call to Lead campaign.
Thanks to the generosity of more than 2,500 alumnae, the most iconic and beloved building on the Dartmouth campus is undergoing an extensive renovation to expand accessibility, incorporate state-of-the-art classroom technology, and be reconfigured to meet the needs of faculty and students while serving as a cutting-edge 21st century home for the humanities.
Anonymous Hall, a beautifully reimagined building, brings fresh energy and collaborative spaces to Dartmouth's North End. Dedicated in 2021 in honor of generations of alumni who have generously supported Dartmouth without the need for recognition, this building serves as the permanent home of the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, as well as other departments and programs.
As part of President Hanlon's emphasis on experiential learning and leadership, Dartmouth has rallied its community to strengthen two of the most powerful sites of experiential learning and leadership outside the classroom: outdoor programs and athletics.
"Generations of Dartmouth students have forged lifelong bonds here at Moosilauke; they have studied, reflected, and grown, and have come to appreciate, through the challenge and beauty of the outdoors, that there are forces more powerful than oneself. This is a moment to reflect on what constitutes the heart and soul of Dartmouth. Our close-knit community based on deep intellectual engagement; our commitment to the liberal arts delivered by true teacher-scholars; our profound sense of place deep in these North Woods; and, of course, our adventuresome spirit. Nowhere do these four characteristics intersect more powerfully than at Moosilauke."—President Hanlon
Completed in 2017, the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge creates a fresh gathering space for Dartmouth students, alumni, and the greater community. A beloved space for Dartmouth's First-Year Trips and home base for many excursions and events, the updated Lodge incorporates the best-loved features of the original space with modern accessibility features. With significant financial support from Dartmouth alumni, the Lodge now meets Dartmouth's sustainability standards for low energy use and high efficiency; the frame of heavy log timbers were harvested from Dartmouth land under the direction of the College Forester.
Dartmouth completed construction of the Graham Indoor Practice Facility, the largest permanent indoor practice facility in the Ivy League. Powerfully affirming the College's commitment to athletic excellence and competitiveness, the 70,000-square-foot facility features a vast 280 x 200 artificial turf, as well as batting tunnels and other training rooms. The facility offers a state-of-the art resources to help hundreds of Dartmouth student-athletes prepare year-round for elite competition.
A state-of-the-art, 6,400-square-foot addition to the Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse represents a major expansion that will allow rowers to train in moving water year-round and strengthen Dartmouth's ability to recruit topflight talent.
Thanks to the largest 50th Reunion gift in the history of the College from the great Dartmouth Class of 1969, the Dartmouth Outing Club house on the north shore of Occom Pond—the place to rent ice skates, cross-country skis, or snowshoes for a bracing winter ramble—received an extensive renovation. Upgrades include a new configuration to maximize light, new bathrooms, a new coat room, a multi-use kitchen, and sustainable heating and electrical systems to serve the entire facility.
In 2021, Dartmouth created the Infrastructure Renewal Fund to address historical under-investment in critical infrastructure upgrades. This fund will enable Dartmouth to avoid future cuts to the academic enterprise and project balanced budgets for the next 10 years while ensuring that its critical infrastructure needs are met.
"Over the past few years we have made historic investments to elevate our academic strengths in the areas of energy and the environment. This work will not only have a deep impact in the world beyond Dartmouth—it will also inform the approach we take to minimize our own environmental impact, globally and here in the Upper Valley." —President Hanlon
Dartmouth has made significant strides in more sustainable energy use across campus. Since the inception of a 2016 task force convened by President Hanlon on Earth Day, the College has adopted an action plan to reduce use of fossil fuels and other strategies to shrink Dartmouth's carbon footprint.
In keeping with the College's mission to empower leaders of the future, Dartmouth is actively embarking on a path toward a low-carbon footprint with strategic investments in sustainable energy, waste management, food systems, land use, transportation, and water systems.
Implemented by the Office of Sustainability, the action plan has already seen progress.