The first phase of President Sian Leah Beilock’s inaugural commitment to invest in the lifelong value of Dartmouth will launch this month with the opening of a new satellite undergraduate career center on campus in McNutt Hall and a $15 million challenge gift to help create what President Beilock says will be a best-in-its-category internship program.
In addition, a search is currently underway for a new executive director, expected to be in place in early 2025, to lead the transformation of undergraduate career services into what is being envisioned as a future new Center for Career Design.
“Students graduating today will change their career trajectories several times during their working lives,” says President Beilock. “As I talk with students, alumni, faculty, and families, I consistently hear the desire for more support for students in actively designing careers of meaning and impact. A fundamental part of Dartmouth’s mission is to provide students with outstanding opportunities to develop the skills they need to be flexible, creative, and courageous in making their own futures.”
The $15 million challenge gift from an anonymous alumnus will provide a dollar-for-dollar match to help raise an additional $15 million. The goal is a total of $30 million in endowment funds to support more than 300 new internships a year, coordinated through what is currently known as the Center for Professional Development. Through these funds, Dartmouth will make internships—whether in business, arts and culture, nonprofits, or government—financially accessible to all undergraduates and a standard part of the Dartmouth experience.
“Our vision is to take a forward-thinking, life-design approach that helps students connect what they’re learning in and out of the classroom,” Beilock says. “We want to leverage our relationships with alumni, families, and supporters who are willing to share their experiences and support our students. And, ultimately, we want to be able to continue to support our alumni throughout all the phases of their careers.”
Internships for All
Internship support is a matter of equity, says Co-Interim Dean of the College Anne Hudak.
“These generous gifts will allow students who have financial need the ability to partake in internships without having to worry about the financial aspect of it,” Hudak says, noting that more than 50% of first-year students receive financial aid. “Internships give students the chance to really think about what they’ve learned in the classroom and how they can take that understanding into a career field. And they are essential opportunities for students to try out potential careers, so that they can know if this is a field that they truly want to enter.”
Mike Triplett ’96, who has hosted dozens of student interns in the technology field over the past five years and has gone on to hire many, observed, “Students are hungry for the opportunity to go beyond what they’ve learned in the classroom to experience what businesses and organizations do every day. Through this new funding for internships, students will discover new interests, develop new skills, learn what it means to live independently in a new environment, and allow employers to witness first-hand the capabilities and potential of Dartmouth students.”
The dollar-for-dollar challenge will match all new endowment gifts through December 31, 2025, or until the full $15 million is matched.
Currently, Dartmouth students find internships through a variety of paths, from centers and institutes such as the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, and the Center for Social Impact, as well as the Center for Professional Development.
Funds from the new dedicated endowment will dramatically expand CPD’s internship resources and will also be available to students who seek internships through any of these organizations. Ultimately, Hudak says, the process through which students find internship opportunities—and the financial support for them—will become more streamlined under the leadership of the new Center for Career Design executive director. Alumni interested in hosting internships are invited to sign up through Dartmouth Connect.
“We want to make sure all of Dartmouth’s individual centers have the autonomy to move forward with internships as they always have, while at the same time creating a robust scaffolding for the full landscape of internship opportunities available to students as they are seeking them,” Hudak says.
Once realized, Dartmouth will offer one of the best-resourced internship programs among its peer group.
Career Services in McNutt
The new career lab space in the lower level of McNutt officially opens on Monday, Sept. 30, and will keep regular hours for drop-ins and appointments with career coaches from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The space is an on-campus satellite extension of the CPD, which will also continue to use its office and event space at 63 South Main St.
“It’s an incredible, versatile space that I think students will really appreciate,” Hudak says of the McNutt center, which was formerly occupied by Dartmouth’s Computer Store. “The CPD coaches and staff have done an excellent job making this a welcoming and vibrant place for students to come and explore their professional interests.”
And exploration is key, Hudak says.
“I hope students will approach the idea of thinking about their future with an open mind, and not have a fixed mindset on where they think they should go,” she says. “There are so many opportunities out there for them that might draw on their strengths and their values in ways that they may not understand when they first enter Dartmouth.”
The new space offers a suite of activities, including learning labs that help clarify values and identify strengths that can be fed into a new AI-based ChatGPT tool developed by Chris Jordan, an assistant director and career coach at CPD. These tools help identify potential career paths that can be investigated further with the guidance of the career coaching staff and peer interns. There are other features including a photo booth where students can take professional headshots and flexible spaces to accommodate individual meetings and small events. And Dartmouth is introducing several new partnerships with the Tuck School of Business that provide valuable career guidance, training, and opportunities for undergraduates that complement what is offered by the CPD.
Students and their families can get a sneak preview of the space at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, during Family Weekend.
Career resources and networking opportunities for alumni are available at Dartmouth Connect.
