Growing Dartmouth’s strength in research, its tie to entrepreneurship and impact, and a comprehensive update from the Tuck School of Business were among the topics the Board of Trustees took up during its Jan. 29-31 meeting in Hanover.

Board members also celebrated newly promoted and tenured faculty and bid farewell to outgoing chair Elizabeth Cahill Lempres ’83, Thayer ’84.

“Liz leaves a remarkable legacy of leadership that helped to shape a transformational period for Dartmouth,” said Trustees Chair Gregg Lemkau ’91, who was elected last March. “It is an honor to follow her as chair and to work alongside my fellow trustees in ensuring our alma mater and its leaders are charting a bold course that serves our students, our community, and the nation.”

During its executive session, the board signaled its continued support of Dartmouth’s policies of institutional restraint and freedom of expression by voting to formally endorse both as foundational to Dartmouth’s educational mission and to “fostering an environment where diverse ideas can be vigorously debated within a community of respect.” 

Board members also endorsed language from the Chicago Principles, specifically: “It is not the proper role of Dartmouth to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive, and that although Dartmouth greatly values civility, and although all members of the Dartmouth community share in the responsibility for maintaining a climate of mutual respect, concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as a justification for closing off discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those ideas may be to some members of our community.”

They affirmed dialogue and debate as core principles and commended the faculty, staff, and students who participate in upholding this culture daily on Dartmouth’s campus.

“Dartmouth’s policy of institutional restraint has served us well in its first year of implementation,” said President Sian Leah Beilock. “It does not stop us from speaking up for Dartmouth or protecting our mission. At the same time, it empowers individuals within our community to exercise their right to free speech—including through protest and dissent—without fear that they won’t align with any one top-down institutional position.”

Extending Research Excellence

An institution-wide strategy for research excellence, rooted in faculty expertise and enhancing the opportunities available to graduate and undergraduate students, was a theme across multiple board discussions.

“Research is a core to our mission,” said Provost Santiago Schnell. “It attracts internationally competitive teacher-scholars, expands distinctive experiential learning for students, and increases Dartmouth’s impact and reputation nationally and globally.”

Schnell and Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Nina Pavcnik provided an overview of six areas of strategic investment where there is potential to distinguish Dartmouth among other leading research institutions. Initially, more than a dozen programmatic areas of strength were identified using criteria including scholarly impact and visibility, faculty distinction, existing or emerging PhD programs, extramural funding, and exposure to volatility in the federal research funding model. After iterative review, six cross-campus foci were chosen for potential step-function increases in international visibility. They are:

• Biomolecular Design
• Cold Weather, Polar, and Ice Systems
• Cultivating Creativity and the Arts
• Economy, Democracy, and Security
• Neuroscience and Mental Health
• Rural Health and Society

“These are far from the only areas in which faculty are excelling in scholarship, creating knowledge, and forging solutions,” Schnell said. “But they are broad enough to encompass the work of many in our community while overlapping with areas of significant student interest. We will complement this framework with competitive faculty-driven initiatives, supported by a transparent process for resourcing ideas that show exceptional promise.”

Deans from each of Dartmouth’s schools and other senior academic leaders have led this work. They expect to complete a strategic plan this summer that will guide future investments in faculty growth, research infrastructure, and space planning across these areas.

From Innovation to Impact

Later that day, Schnell and Vice Provost for Research Dean Madden led the board through a discussion of how innovation becomes societal impact through two Dartmouth units—the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship and the Technology Transfer Office—that could be unified. 

The Magnuson Center manages an interlocking portfolio of initiatives focused on start-up support, experiential learning, and alumni engagement. Through this platform the Center supports 1,000 students, 100 faculty, and 1,500 alumni each year. When combined, those activities support accelerator programs in Cancer Innovation, Digital Health, and Engineering, as well as training programs for faculty and students and the Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Forum. In 2025, it also supported 18 student start-ups through its Magnuson Venture Studio, three of which garnered a total of over $7 million in investment capital. 

Technology Transfer oversees the business development and licensing of intellectual property owned by Dartmouth, grant compliance, and revenue distributions. It also supports and trains PhD students in entrepreneurship through the nationally recognized PhD Innovation Program. The Technology Transfer team has overseen the commercialization of the COVID “spike protein” and many other successful spin-offs including cancer immunotherapies, treatments for multiple sclerosis, and anti-inflammatories that have generated more than $600 million over the past 10 years to support research and innovation at Dartmouth.

“Despite many successes, there are several limitations associated with the current siloed structure,” Madden told the board. 

A campuswide review—led by a committee including Dartmouth faculty representing multiple schools—and extensive stakeholder conversations uncovered numerous benefits of drawing the two units together within a reimagined Magnuson Center. 

Alumni networks can help accelerate research discoveries into real-world impact. Students will benefit from the chance to pursue entrepreneurship through the PhD Innovation Program and Magnuson start-up support. Faculty will benefit from enhanced impact and resources, including a campuswide accelerator. This concept will be underpinned by an investment of Dartmouth and philanthropic funds, fueling a virtuous cycle of discovery, translation, impact, and reinvestment.

Several board members were also involved in the assessment and the trustees supported President Beilock’s decision to merge the units into a single holistic structure this summer. 

Tuck School Tracks Opportunities, AI

Matthew Slaughter, the Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business, told trustees that Tuck is in a strong position and looking ahead to opportunities in research, business courses for undergraduates, and AI education.

“We are closely tracking AI’s emerging impact on labor demand,” said Slaughter. “Thus far, the market is reiterating the importance of many Tuck and Dartmouth strengths: the development of critical thinking, trust, teamwork, communication, and community.”

Tuck’s flagship two-year full-time MBA program continues to set records for the quality of each incoming class, the career outcomes students achieve, and the impact of Tuck’s alumni community. Among U.S. business schools, Tuck is ranked #6 by U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, and LinkedIn, #12 by the Financial Times, and #4 by Poets & Quants.

“The Tuck of today is strong and innovative,” Slaughter said. “We believe future growth will come primarily from our non-MBA programs where demand for business education is strong across the learner lifecycle, from senior executives to undergraduates.”

Slaughter reported that the school is seeking approval from Arts and Sciences faculty on a fourth for-credit course to be available to Dartmouth undergraduates, as the aim is to continue expanding opportunities for those students to engage with business education.

“The vision is to enable students to fully embrace the richness of Dartmouth’s liberal arts by learning the language and operations of society’s foundational organizations: businesses, nonprofits, and governments,” Slaughter said.

Meanwhile, Tuck’s scholarship endowment for its MBA program is nearing its funding goal, and Slaughter asked the board for support in pursuing additional housing options in order to fully deliver a residential MBA experience.

Leaders Elevated to Expanded Roles in Operations and Strategy

Following announcements at the board meeting, Dartmouth has promoted two senior leaders to expanded roles, recognizing their outstanding contributions to institutional excellence.

Jomysha Delgado Stephen, executive vice president and secretary to the board, has been promoted to also serve as chief operating officer. Josh Keniston has been promoted to senior vice president of operations and strategic initiatives, recognizing his expanded leadership of strategic university-wide initiatives.

“Jomysha is proactively driving improvements from one end of campus to the other—leading organizational transformation, coordinating our senior leadership, and navigating an increasingly complex regulatory and operational landscape,” Beilock said. “As chief operating officer, she serves as my partner in ensuring that Dartmouth operates as one integrated institution. This is exactly the leadership structure world-class institutions require.”

“Josh exemplifies the leadership excellence we cultivate at Dartmouth,” Beilock continued. “This promotion formalizes what he’s already delivering—bridging operational excellence with strategic execution.”

Delgado Stephen’s expanded role recognizes her critical leadership across every university function, while Keniston’s promotion reflects his successful expansion beyond campus operations and capital projects to champion strategic initiatives central to Dartmouth’s mission.

The Board of Trustees next convenes in March.