Grads

While growing up in Michigan, Benjamin B. Bolger (MALS ’04) was fascinated by Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and other forward-looking architects. However, he was aware that for an era it was Detroit that represented the epicenter of American industrialization. He saw globalization change the economics of manufacturing dynamics and watched as the once great city began its decline. It is now the chaos, complexity and challenges of contemporary cities that fascinate Ben.

Homeschooled by his mother, Ben began college at age 12. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where his studies included many graduate courses in urban planning. Following his interest in the intersections of politics, urban development and social change led Ben to a White House internship.

For graduate school he sought to obtain a rich interdisciplinary background. In addition to his degree from Dartmouth, he completed graduate degrees at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Stanford University, Columbia University Teachers College, Brown University, Brandeis University and Skidmore College. At Dartmouth Ben thrived in the interdisciplinary focused MALS program. The dialogue between faculty members from different disciplines in a graduate seminar-style course deeply resonated with his drive to understand complex problems from multiple perspectives.

It was at Dartmouth that he accelerated his interest in searching for solutions to complex problems by learning from the pairing of different disciplines. Ben writes, “In specific cases I think social psychology is more interesting than sociology or psychology alone; I think political economy is more compelling than just politics or economics by itself. The more we blend insights from different disciplines, the more powerful are our opportunities to reach a deeper understanding of complex problems.”

After Dartmouth Ben completed a doctorate at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. While at Harvard he focused on urban planning and design and how they intersect with real estate development. As a teaching fellow he won teaching awards for excellence in the classroom.

After graduating from Harvard Ben began teaching at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. At William & Mary’s Mason School of Business he led the creation of a real estate development and entrepreneurship program for second-year M.B.A. students. He also helped organize several high-profile real estate conferences that brought together industry experts from around the globe.

Ben has traveled the world examining urban problems and challenges. He is especially interested in the rapid and chaotic changes in Eastern Europe and China. He believes that democracies and free markets breathe life into cities around the world. As corners of the globe are exposed to greater freedom, he also believes that the opportunities for cities to build better environments increases. However, Ben remains haunted by the decline of Detroit and the urgent need to solve the embedded urban problems in America.

Gerald Darling (physics ’94) was promoted to full professor of physics and chemistry in the school of health and natural sciences at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. He earned his M.Eng. and B.S. at Cornell University and is a resident of West Hartford, Connecticut.

Dennis Joseph Dwyer (MALS ’11) is beginning a Ph.D. at Trinity College Dublin as a postgraduate in the school of English. He is focusing his dissertation research on David Foster Wallace and has been asked to present a paper on Wallace next year at the Universities of Paris 3-Sorbonne Nouvelle and Paris 7-Diderot conference devoted to the introduction of Wallace’s work.

175 Greensboro Road, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-3789; m.jane.welsh.adv98@ alum.dartmouth.org