There is nothing like scrolling through headlines from the beginning of the year to drive home just how unusual 2020 has been—and just how well the Dartmouth community rose to meet unprecedented challenges, from the pandemic response to a campus visit from an ursine neighbor. As we close the door on 2020, here is a look at how Dartmouth News covered some of the key events on and off campus this year.
Auspicious Beginnings
The year started off promisingly enough. In January, Dartmouth News introduced —scholar-teachers specializing in everything from number theory and the ecology of food systems to 20th-century Russian literature and the archaeology of Indigenous American religions. Â鶹ĘÓƵ and undergraduate students in Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences Marisa Palucis’ lab , while back on Earth, , where he met with alumni and participated in a series of interviews with business and other leaders ahead of the 2020 World Economic Forum.
Later in the month, Dartmouth leadership announced that it was “,” of which at the time there had been only a handful of confirmed cases in the United States.
In the meantime, to discuss the findings of the academies’ 2018 landmark report, “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,” which form the basis of Dartmouth’s Campus Climate and Culture Initiative, known as C3I.
At the Hood Museum of Art, students and community members , part of an installation by Diné photographer Will Wilson and the Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange. And preparations for winter carnival——, as did the , which featured keynote addresses from civil rights attorney, minister, and Harvard professor Cornell Brooks and award-winning poet, translator, and children’s book author Kianny Antigua, a senior lecturer in Spanish, .
In February, Dartmouth prepared to dedicate its , and . to field-test a pilot program for teaching young people about quantum computing. The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding hosted , the Montgomery Fellows Program brought to campus, and students had front-row seats for New Hampshire’s as Democratic candidates vied for their party’s nomination. (, at least in Hanover.)
The Book Arts workshop helped students celebrate Valentine’s Day, and . The theater department brought to the Hopkins Center for the Arts’ Moore Theater stage, from Professor of English Carolyn Dever’s 19th-century literature students. First-year students —including winter carnival—with primary sources in Dartmouth Library’s Rauner Special Collections Library, and Middle Eastern studies students .
And Then It Was (COVID) Spring
With COVID-19 beginning its first surge throughout the country, students were asked not to return to campus after spring break. , from developing a team-taught course on to bringing to finding innovative ways to support . Undergraduate learning fellows , and students on the canceled winter Italian language study abroad program .
The Hopkins Center for the Arts and the Hood Museum of Art , as did , and the College archivist to see how Dartmouth weathered other troubled times. Meanwhile, to learn as much as possible about the novel coronavirus, and the greater Dartmouth community .
To keep the community up to speed on Dartmouth’s ongoing response to the pandemic, Provost Joseph Helble , an online forum in which he and other campus leaders regularly answer questions on operations and priorities.
As the Class of 2024 , Lee Coffin, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid, to help high school students and their families navigate the college admissions process. And though the Class of 2020 could not gather on the Green for commencement, Dartmouth hosted a .
Over the summer, as remote learning continued for all undergraduates, , spending some quality time .
The Hopkins Center announced a. National Book Award-winning novelist Phil Klay ’05 was . Faculty and students continued to find . The community also found ways in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
By the end of fiscal year 2020, the institution had by about a third.
A Fall Term Like No Other
Half of the undergraduate student body—including the Class of 2024—, braving a new world of COVID-19 testing, arrival quarantines, physical distancing, mask-wearing, , and other changes aimed at protecting the greater Dartmouth and Upper Valley community. The ’24s experienced an , and learned about “” in the annual shared academic experience.
Most classes continued remotely, even for students on campus, and the innovations continued, from to theater mainstage production . The Hood installed by Ursula von Rydingsvard and continued , and the Hop offered a and tents for performance groups. The Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship held .
, student volunteers pitched in to help make Hanover polling run smoothly and safely. And Dartmouth celebrated Veterans Day with a .
Outstanding Achievements in Unprecedented Times
In this year of adaptations, members of the Dartmouth community continued to shine. Among those recognized for their achievements, Sydney Kamen ’19 from the U.S. Department of State to pursue a career in foreign service. Grace Anderson ’20 , and four students and recent alumni to study at Stanford University.
around the world, though COVID delayed their start-dates. Five Dartmouth graduate students . Jordan McDonald ’21 . Other national undergraduate accolades included and . And a team of Dartmouth undergraduates won .
Playwright Celeste Jennings ’18 brought her choreopoem, Citrus—originally written during her senior fellowship—. Associate Professor of Theater Monica Ndounou’s CRAFT Institute was part of a collective that won .
Jami Powell, associate curator for Native American Art at the Hood Museum of Art, of the Arts Leadership Award from ArtTable. Assistant Professor of Chemistry Chenfeng Ke in Supramolecular Chemistry; and Professor of Earth Sciences Mukul Sharma , as did . Associate Professor of Government Jason Lyall and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Katherine Mirica . Biology professor G. Eric Schaller .
On campus, philosophy professor Samuel Levey , and Jon Kull ’88 was tapped for a second term . Eleven members of the faculty , and six members of the staff earned for their service to Dartmouth. President Hanlon tapped Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History Matthew Delmont as .
And in the category of new ventures: Rena Mosteirin ’05, a poet and lecturer in the Master of Liberal Studies Program, ; Associate Professor of Computer Science Gevorg Grigoryan ; and the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics Russell Muirhead .
Looking Ahead
Undergraduate classes begin remotely Jan. 7, and about half of undergraduates will return to Hanover Jan. 16-17. While COVID safety rules continue, Dartmouth leaders, students, faculty, and staff are (send ideas to WinterTermSuggestions2021@Dartmouth.edu).
Hannah Silverstein can be reached at hannah.silverstein@dartmouth.edu.
