Honoring countless alumni and friends who have faithfully and quietly supported the College over two centuries, Dartmouth will soon dedicate its newest academic building as Anonymous Hall.
The gracefully renovated building at the north end of campus formerly known as the Dana Biomedical Library was stripped down to its steel girders and concrete frame, and has been transformed into a sleek four-plus-story building, its exterior clad in terra cotta and expanses of south-facing glass.
Anonymous Hall is the permanent home of the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies and the Program in Linguistics, and, on a short-term basis, the Department of Russian and a portion of the Department of Computer Science. The building contains classrooms outfitted with modern teaching technologies, workspaces, and faculty offices.
Anonymous Hall brings new energy to the campus’ north end by creating formal and informal spaces for learning and collaboration. The combination of classrooms, a rooftop terrace, a cafe, and sunny multi-use interior spaces is conducive to learning in myriad ways.
At the request of the project’s generous lead donor, who has declined publicity, the $28 million renovation will recognize generations of alumni who have aspired to support Dartmouth through deeds large and small, known and unknown. The College has embraced the donor’s request to rededicate the building as Anonymous Hall, to honor alumni and friends whose loyalty and selfless service have made Dartmouth one of the world’s premier institutions of higher education, with a global impact out of proportion to its size.
“We aimed from the outset to imagine a campaign that could be as inclusive as possible, the broadest invitation to our community to elevate Dartmouth for the generations to come,” says Laurel Richie ’81, chair of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees and a co-chair of The Call to Lead campaign. “We’ve been honored by the extraordinary generosity of one alumnus recognizing the generosity of all alumni in the creation of a new learning environment for the ages.”
As crews complete the construction of the 33,000-square-foot building—installation of solar panels above the building’s rooftop terrace will take place later this year—students, faculty, and staff have been using Anonymous Hall since the beginning of the winter term.
“Anonymous Hall is a beautifully reimagined building with inspired spaces for teaching, scholarship, and the kind of informal interactions that make Dartmouth such a special place for our faculty and students,” says Elizabeth Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
“Located at the crossroads of the McLaughlin Residential Cluster, the Geisel School of Medicine, and the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, Anonymous Hall is already having an impact on the daily lives of our students and faculty. Having the Guarini School and a cafe on the first floor is an added bonus, providing opportunities to bring members of the north end community together.”
Jon Kull ’88, dean of the Guarini School, says he and his colleagues are delighted to be housed in a central location with greater visibility.
“We’re honored to be in Anonymous Hall,” says Kull. “Its name is a fitting tribute to all the alumni who support our scholarship and our commitment to prepare future generations of scholars.”
Anonymous Hall’s formal dedication is tentatively scheduled for May 15, during the 220th session of the Alumni Council, when more than 120 alumni councilors representing Dartmouth’s 80,000 alumni are scheduled to be on campus for their semi-annual meeting. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be invited to the community celebration.
Transformation Through The Call to Lead
Renovation of Anonymous Hall is the latest in a series of capital projects funded through The Call to Lead, Dartmouth’s transformative $3 billion comprehensive campaign. To date, donors have funded reconstruction of the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and a major expansion of the Hood Museum of Art. Other building projects underway include:
- The new 55,000-square-foot home of the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at the end of Tuck Mall, scheduled to open by fall 2021;
- The Center for Engineering and Computer Science, a 150,000 square-foot building, also on track to open in the fall of 2021;
- An indoor practice facility that will feature a 56,000-square-foot practice surface for Big Green sports teams, the largest permanent indoor athletic practice facility in the Ivy League, which will be available to student-athletes this spring.
A New Hub of Collaboration and Exploration
Anonymous Hall and its landscaped outdoor space will redefine the north end of campus, creating a hub of activity and collaboration for students, faculty, and staff. In addition to classroom space and the rooftop terrace, Anonymous Hall houses the new Guarini School Commons, an open, adaptable space with large west-facing windows where graduate students and postdoctoral scholars can study, meet, and host events.
The first floor offers a grab-and-go cafe called Ramekin, operated by Dartmouth Dining Services.
The building includes multiple energy-efficiency features in addition to solar panels. The College will apply for LEED Silver certification, an international review process developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that recognizes buildings constructed and operated according to stringent levels of sustainability.
The biomedical library had been located in the former Dana building. As students in the sciences increasingly access information online, the library has been moved to a smaller space at 37 Dewey Field Road and retains the name Dana Biomedical Library.
Leers Weinzapfel Architects is the architect for the Anonymous Hall project, and Windover Construction is the construction manager.