1974

1974

Dear ’74s, one of the biggest advantages of being a class officer is getting to know other officers better or, in some cases, for the first time. As planning accelerates towards our 50th reunion, your class executive committee is spending more and more time planning and communicating. We have had a class gift in mind since the 45th reunion: to raise $500,000 for an ongoing scholarship for undergraduate education. If you didn’t know, the College calculates an average return of 5 percent on directed endowment to fund ongoing projects such as a $25,000 annual scholarship. I’m sorry to say that doesn’t go as far as it did in the 1970s.

Now we are reaching for a gift with even greater influence on the College. We have started planning an integrated class project that will support both scholarship and an enduring effort to address and modify disparities in health and mortality. As you may have heard, at our last reunion it was reported (in conjunction with the planning for our memorial service) that approximately 10 percent of our classmates had died. The statistics also revealed that our Black classmates had died at a rate two and a halftimes that of our non-Black classmates. Since about 10 percent of our freshman class was Black, this means approximately 23 percent of our Black classmates have passed away, while only 9 percent of the rest of us. We were shocked and dismayed! Further research has identified similar statistics across the classes of 1973 through 1978 and reportedly at other elite colleges. The good news is that Dartmouth alumni mortality rates are only about half ofthose for the U.S. population at large. Yet huge disparities persist in spite ofthe advantages imbued by a Dartmouth education and any financial advantages it provides.

Our team is gathering more data and has begun conversations with Dartmouth administration and advancement offices regarding specific ways that our class can promote further study of this issue and be a force for change. They and the class officers believe and hope that these efforts will add momentum to progress in social justice and addressing systemic racism. Please feel free to contact them or me for more information. Also see Rick Ranger’s newsletter for more information from the working group and the stories that inspire their efforts. So, on the recommendation of head agent John Haulenbeek, the class executive committee has approved a fundraising goal of $1 million for our 50th reunion to further this work on our integrated class project and scholarships. We hope to wo rk with the class of2024 (our legacy class) and other classes to keep this project alive for as long as ittakes. Let’s hopethe class of2074 won’t need to do this. Please consider supporting this effort.

1972-1977

In a recent related and ironic side note, one of our more well-known classmates, Karen Lewis, has recently passed away after battling cancer for several years. Please see Rick Sample’s class obituaries at www.dartmouthalumni.com.

—Philip Stebbins, 17Hardy Road, Londonderry, NH 03053; p.stebs@comcast.net

Philip Stebbins