FROM THE PRESIDENT

To the Dartmouth family:

I have come back to New Hampshire with the joy of a native son, privileged to preside over the College on the Hill, under whose shadow I grew up. This is a special place, and it has rightly been written that "something happens to young men and women up here. It can't be preached or planned for or taught; it just happens." I can feel it happening to me as well, as I take up the task of leading a prosperous Dartmouth into a promising future.

Although I have hardly begun to discern the lineaments of my job, I sense on all sides the warm and welcoming spirit of the great Dartmouth family and know that I go forward with as much support as I shall ever need. Certainly this year's extraordinary giving record testifies to one gracious and generous form of that support, and I am deeply grateful to all of you for it.

For my part, I am beginning my first year at Dartmouth mindful of the good advice John Sloan Dickey used to offer freshmen at Convocation. "As members of the College," he always told them, "you have three different but closely intertwined roles to play. First, you are citizens of a community and are expected to act as such. Second, you are the stuff of an institution and what you are it will be. Third, your business here is learning and that is up to you."

That's good advice for a freshman president as well, especially one fortunate enough to begin his work on the solid foundation of Dartmouth's traditions of intellectual distinction and family loyalty. I know already what President Dickey meant when he concluded those Convocation remarks by saying, "We'll be with you all the way, and Good Luck!" Dartmouth's alumni certainly have been there all the way this past year, to an extent unmatched even in the history of this College's legendary generosity. I pray to be equal to President Dickey's good words and to your great devotion.

Sincerely,

President