Noteworthy Visitor

Where does a Rolling Stone cover girl and seven-time Grammy winner fit on the roster of Dartmouth's Montgomery Fellows, an august group of visiting scholars that includes historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, poet Toni Morrison and Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun?

Recent fellow Sheryl Crow asks the same question.

"When I saw the list of Montgomery Fellows," says the pop star, "I had to call and say 'Why am I here?'"

The Montgomery Endowment called on Crow as part of a series that explores popular culture's intellectual side. "Pop culture has a tremendous impact on society, and our students should have the opportunity to meet personally with outstanding people from that culture," says endowment director Barbara Gerstner.

Crow, 38, whose four albums have sold more than 13 million copies, fit the bill.

During her February visit to campus the former gradeschool teacher met with several classes. "Let's face it," Crow told an English class, "the things that really resonate with people are the common experiences that we have; we all are motivated by love, we're motivated by fear, we're motivated by the absence of love, we're motivated by success and by acceptance, and those are really common themes."

She also treated a Hopkins Center crowd to a two-hour show, performing a mixture of new songs and her best-known material. She interspersed the music with candid discussions of her lyrics and political activism.

The endowment series continued in early March with a visit by Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, musical director of the Oscar-nominated film Buena Vista Social Club.

Sheryl Crow preformed at Dartmouth on February 15.