The Board of Trustees spent their June 11-14 meeting in Hanover tackling a number of timely, strategic topics before attending investitures and commissionings, welcoming honorary degree recipients, celebrating the Class of 2026, and marking the 50th reunion of the historic Class of 1976.
“These alumni hold a singular place in Dartmouth’s story as the first truly coeducational class, including the first women to complete a four-year undergraduate cycle,” said Trustees Chair Gregg Lemkau ’91. “It was wonderful to spend time on campus with them and also to welcome Rachel Dratch ’88 back to the Green as Commencement speaker.”
Board members also bid farewell to outgoing trustees Jeffrey Crowe ’78, Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe ’81, Christopher Lord ’86, and Elizabeth Cahill Lempres ’83, Thayer ’84, who served as chair from July 2021 through December 2025.
“Liz, Jeff, Eileen, and Chris are all committed leaders who have made an indelible impact on Dartmouth,” Lemkau said. “Their time as trustees was a high point in a lifetime of contributions to this incredible university, and it has been an honor to serve alongside them.”
Four new trustees joining the board on July 1 are being announced this week.
Assessing residential communities
Among the topics presented for board feedback was a report from the Residential Communities Working Group (PDF) providing an assessment and recommendations for and across each of Dartmouth’s three residential structures: House Communities, Living Learning Communities, and Greek Life and Student Societies. Taken together, they serve the majority of undergraduates and shape how belonging, social life, and community identity are formed on campus.
“Before Dartmouth undergraduates have found their people, their major, or figured out who they want to be, they have a floor, a building, a set of faces that become familiar,” said Jennifer Rosales, senior vice president for Community and Campus Life and chief student affairs officer. “A place to live is one of the very first things students encounter when they arrive, and long after graduation, it remains a strong memory.”
Rosales convened the working group of staff, faculty, students, and trustees last fall. They went on to conduct a campus-wide survey of students, drawing 866 responses, as well as interviews and focus groups. The surveys found:
- House Communities offer a first campus community for every student but function as a secondary affiliation for many. Cross-class and intergenerational interaction is a defining goal of the house system, and opportunities remain to more fully realize that vision in practice.
- Living Learning Communities were rated as the most successful in fostering positive social environments, and there is an opportunity to build on that strength. Physical location plays a meaningful role in their effectiveness—with standalone houses outperforming those embedded in apartment buildings or residence halls—and greater consistency in mission, governance, and resource distribution would help all communities thrive.
- Greek Life and Student Societies drew the highest rating for effectiveness in creating a sense of belonging and often function as de facto social venues for the entire campus. But that strong community is in tension with elevated perceptions of risk in Greek spaces, and students are asking for more accessible low-risk events, clearer expectations, and more sober-friendly environments.
Recommendations spanning all residential community types included regular reviews of staffing and policy enforcement; better integration of academic opportunities; and the creation of an annual residential fair that presents students with the full residential landscape as options.
The committees studying each structure also identified unique opportunities for improvement.
The working group recommended that House Communities be better promoted to students prior to their arrival as the first step in their residential experience. That experience could also be improved through more informal dining in house spaces, paid student operations roles, and incentives for upper-level students to remain engaged.
Greek Life would benefit from annual relationship agreements with all organizations, including a formal separation policy and a structured re-recognition pathway for those operating outside official recognition. Underpinning this is a commitment to safety and the belief that organizations are better supported, and risks better managed, when they operate within Dartmouth’s purview.
New sorority pathways are also needed to address a capacity gap, and inequities in standalone housing for culturally based Greek organizations are another issue worth addressing. Finally, Living Learning Communities need a unified mission, vision, and values across the 17 distinct communities, to be overseen by the creation of an advisory board, and equitable funding models are needed that consider size, existing endowments, and staffing capacity.
“The recommendations in this report range from the immediate to the significant, but it’s clear that Dartmouth is already invested,” Rosales said, referencing President Sian Leah Beilock’s $500 million commitment to new and renovated housing. “This moment creates an opportunity to design a residential system that reflects what this institution believes about how students learn, who they become, and what they owe each other.”
Meetings are underway with School of Arts and Sciences leadership to discuss how the report recommendations can best be implemented.
Continued planning for the future
Key areas of intentional focus and funding during President Beilock’s tenure are also playing a significant role in the board’s continued discussion about a strategy for Dartmouth’s next decade.
Trustees affirmed Dartmouth’s aspiration to provide the best undergraduate education within a world-class university that will take advantage of the institution’s distinctive size and scale, academic excellence across schools, the teacher-scholar model, and a profound sense of place.
The board recognized that achieving this aspiration will require continued focus on attracting the most promising students, deepening Dartmouth’s research impact in select areas, and increasing support for existing faculty and staff.
To advance this work, trustees directed the administration to begin planning for how to add more students and faculty—with the necessary staff and infrastructure support—through a structured, multi-year process that engages faculty governance, adheres to fiscal discipline, and is informed by community input.
Ad hoc naming committee established
The board also continued to carefully consider the topic of naming across campus, including recent feedback from the community about the Black Family Visual Arts Center.
Building on its April meeting, where the board moved to establish a trustee ad hoc committee on naming policy, trustees during the June meeting approved the creation and charter of the ad hoc committee: the Naming Policy Committee. Its mandate is to review and make recommendations to the board regarding the university’s policies and principles for honorary naming and re-naming consistent with the board’s fiduciary responsibility. Any future decisions on honorary naming will be made in alignment with the output of this ad hoc committee.
The ad hoc committee, chaired by Lemkau, will take a comprehensive approach to ensure Dartmouth has clear, consistent standards, processes, and decision-making principles to guide the university on all naming matters.
“Our goal is to produce, in the near term, an enduring institution-wide framework that reflects Dartmouth’s mission and core values and serves the long-term interests of the institution and community,” said Lemkau.
In other news, trustees:
- Approved the FY27 operating budget of $1.7 billion and capital budget of $76 million, covering July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.
- Advanced a small project to add faculty and staff housing in Hanover within walking distance of campus, demonstrating continued momentum on Beilock’s pledge to add at least 1,000 new beds within 10 years.
- Received an update on the implementation of the School of Arts and Sciences.
The board will next convene on campus in October.
