This year, look for Dartmouth trustees in a city near you. As part of an effort Board Chair Steve Mandel Jr. ’78 has characterized as a “commitment to reach out and engage broadly with alumni and friends of Dartmouth,” members of the Board will be speaking at alumni club events around the country.

These events let alumni learn firsthand about topics such as student life, restructuring the College’s budget, and major initiatives. Just as important, the meetings give trustees the chance to hear from alumni and friends about the issues that matter to them. Steve Faber ’82, president of the Dartmouth Club of the Midwest, says, “It’s an opportunity to put questions to trustees directly and hear how they respond.”

Trustee and former Board Chair Ed Haldeman ’70 spoke at the Dartmouth Club of the Midwest’s annual dinner last summer to an audience of about 150. Although attendees took the opportunity to ask the new head of Freddie Mac about the ongoing mortgage crisis, Haldeman also addressed trustee elections, the student experience, and the College’s future. He spoke “about how Dartmouth works to ensure that students today feel every bit as good about their experience as we did about ours,” recalls Faber.

Last June, Trustee Sherri Oberg ’82, Tuck ’86, visited the Dartmouth Club of Cape Cod during its annual dinner. Club President Tom Murphy ’60 says attendees were impressed with Oberg’s answers to questions about the College’s response to the economic downturn. “She was terrific. Several people came up to me afterward and said what a great choice it was to have her speak.”

Faber says trustee engagement with clubs is important to help maintain the close connection many alumni feel with the College. “Dartmouth has a sense of family. You can go to any college for four years, but you have the privilege of going to Dartmouth for life. It’s important for the heads of the family—the board and the president and the people making decisions—to get out and talk about what’s happening on campus.”

Members of Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees will be attending a number of alumni events in 2011. The events listed below were confirmed as of press time. Please visit the Office of Alumni Relations website or call (603) 646-3497 for updates and to register.

Dartmouth Club of Sarasota hosts Trustee Brad Evans ’64 Sarasota, Fla., March 18

Dartmouth Club of Northeast Ohio hosts Trustee Bill Helman ’80 Cleveland, Ohio, April 19

Dartmouth Club of London hosts Trustee Diana Taylor ’77 London, England, May 2011 (call for date)

Dartmouth Club of the Piedmont hosts Trustee Brad Evans ’64 Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (call for date)

Dartmouth Club of Philadelphia hosts Trustee Ed Haldeman ’70 Philadelphia, Pa. (call for date)

Dartmouth Club of Dallas hosts Trustee Trevor Rees-Jones ’73 Dallas, Texas (call for date)

Dartmouth Club of Houston hosts Trustee Trevor Rees-Jones ’73 Houston, Texas (call for date)

President Jim Yong Kim will be speaking at the following Alumni club events and will be joined by members of the Board of Trustees:

Dartmouth Club of Greater Boston Boston, Mass., March 11

Dartmouth Alumni Association of New York City New York, N.Y., March 16

Dartmouth Club of Los Angeles Los Angeles, Calif., March 18

Dartmouth Association of the Rocky Mountains Denver, Colo., March 25

Dartmouth Club of Western Washington Seattle, Wash., May 12

Dartmouth Alumni Association of Silicon Valley Palo Alto, Calif., May 13

Trustees Annette Gordon-Reed and Bill Helman to Speak at TEDxDartmouth 2011

Dartmouth Trustees Annette Gordon-Reed ’81 and Bill Helman ’80 will take the stage as presenters at the second annual TEDxDartmouth conference, scheduled for March 6. The student-run event is modeled on the TED organization’s conferences, which are dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.” At Dartmouth, faculty, alumni, and student speakers will distill their expertise into short presentations designed to engage, educate, and inspire. Branko Cerny ’13, president of TEDxDartmouth, says, “Through TEDxDartmouth, students get the chance to see a diverse showcase of Dartmouth’s excellence in one afternoon.”  The event will be held in Spaulding Auditorium and is open to the public. Videos from 2010 and more information about this year’s conference are available at www.dartmouth.edu/~tedx.