The Campaign Gets a New General

If you had told me ten years ago that I would end up working for Dartmouth, I wouldn't have believed it," says Stan Colla '66, who succeeded Warren "Skip" Hance '55 as vice president of development and alumni affairs on November 1. "If you had told me I would be vice president, I would have said you were crazy."

From a sun-lover's standpoint, maybe he is crazy: Ten years ago he was the head of a prep school in Hawaii. Heading north to the Tuck School, where he got his M.B.A. in 1986, Colla joined the

staff at Blunt as associate director of capital giving. Appointments as director of information resources (1989) and director of a record-breaking Alumni Fund (1991) followed. Now in the middle of a $425 million capital campaign, he oversees some 60 people. An immediate challenge: finding a successor for Michael Choukas '51, retiring director of alumni affairs.

As of December 31, a little more than halfway through the campaign, donations totalled $307.8 million. But Colla and his staff can't afford to operate on cruise-control. Some campaign could be doing better, particularly endowed professorships and student financial aid. Facilities are ahead, at 79 percent, but certain projects such as renovations of Dartmouth Row, the library's Webster Hall annexation, and a new psychology building still need a boost. Facilities are important and beneficial to the overall learning environment, Colla explains, but"the campaign is by and large about what goes on inside the buildings. I really want to provide support for the people who make it happen here the faculty and the students for whom they are a resource."

Though a '66, Colla actually graduated in 1972 after serving in Vietnam. He taught English in Vermont and Hawaii before moving into school administration. His teaching these days is restricted to the athletic field. He coaches sons Geoffrey 13 and Timothy 11 in an exhausting variety of sports including football, soccer, hockey, and baseball. Over the years he has been active in the Hanover community with the Cub Scouts and as a member of the Hanover Planning Board. Wife Judi Colla is on the school board and works as project coordinator for the Hood Center for Family Support.

So are they settled in pretty permanently? "Yeah, I'd say so. I'm really excited about this job, and five years from now I can't imagine wanting to be elsewhere. Hanover is a wonderful place to bring up kids."

Well, so's Hawaii, we hear, but Colla sounds convincing.