Alumni College

For years, adults in this country have had various options for continuing education from summer Chatauquas to refresher courses at business and med schools. In 1964 Dartmouth President John Sloan Dickey '29 put a new twist on educational comebacks: alumni college. "We felt at the time that alumni should have an opportunity for serious liberal study," he explained years later. "Their relationship to Dartmouth shouldn't be restricted to financial support or enthusiasm at football games."

Over the following three decades, alumni and their families have come to campus for two weeks of lectures, discussions, and all-around intellectual fun. The idea of education vacations quickly spread beyond Dartmouth and is now standard summer fare at scores of colleges and universities nationwide.

For Dickey, adult eduction and vacation went hand in hand.