Good morning, Class of 2026. 

Good morning families, friends, faculty, staff, alumni—especially the members of the Class of 1976—Dartmouth’s first four-year co-educational class—who join us today as we mark the 50th anniversary of your graduation from Dartmouth! 

To the Class of 2026: Take a moment to appreciate how far you’ve come. 

Four years ago, many of you took a leap of faith in choosing Dartmouth. You and your families put your trust in us, in this institution, to prepare you for what comes next. That trust is a rare and special thing. 

We are living through a moment when trust in American institutions is at an all-time low — trust in our political parties; our government; the media; corporate America; and yes, in higher education. 

Too many look at our institutions and see places that have become calcified: too slow to adapt; too resistant to change; disconnected from people’s lives and struggles.

If we’re honest: There is truth in those criticisms. It is all too easy for institutions to become complacent and rigid; to lean heavily on the comfort of convention, at the expense of progress. In doing so institutions lose sight of the people they are here to serve.

I want to remind each of you today: You can be the agents of change.

We sit here today with the single greatest example of that fact in Dartmouth’s history: our co-educational Class of 1976. By that point Dartmouth had existed for 207 years. It was what it was — until those on the Green today made it something different. In retrospect, it seems inevitable; in reality, it was anything but.

That transformation was hard and required two things. 

First: It required leaders inside the institution, like President John Kemeny, who thought independently — who were willing to break from the way things had been done, and recognize change was necessary.

And second: It required an extraordinary class of young women on the outside — who courageously walked through newly-opened doors, knowing things would be far from perfect … but took the risk anyway, because they believed they could make Dartmouth better.

You are ready to follow that example: to improve and shape the institutions you will soon encounter.

Some of you will do that from inside the system — as teachers, scientists, business leaders, doctors, public servants. You’ll join existing institutions and help them become more responsive, more innovative, and more humane.

Others of you will work from the outside as advocates, organizers; leaders who challenge assumptions and start movements. You’ll create entirely new ways of solving old problems, and hold institutions accountable when they fall short.

The simple fact is: We need both.

We need reformers on the inside, and challengers on the outside. Every example throughout history shows us it almost always takes both.

You are leaving here well prepared to play either of those roles.

Think about the hallmarks of a Dartmouth education, and what you have learned to do on this campus.

You’ve learned to sit across from someone whose experiences differ from your own and remain curious.

You’ve learned to disagree without dehumanizing.

You have learned to think independently — to question your own assumptions; avoid conformity and groupthink, question tradition when required. To be that lone voice in the wilderness, in the spirit of our motto, Vox clamantis in deserto.

You have learned *how* to think, to seek out different perspectives, leave your intellectual comfort zone, and weigh the available evidence. 

The world desperately needs those skills right now.

The institutions you’ll encounter are grappling with profoundly difficult questions — about democracy, inequality, global instability, energy, and yes, AI. 

You are ready to tackle them; to lead with principle; to move our institutions, and in the process move all of us forward.

Fifty years ago, the Class of 1976 left this institution, on a day like today, very different than they found it. Better than they found it. That is one of the highest compliments we can pay them. My hope is that 50 years from now, people will say the same about each of you.

That the organizations you joined became better because you were there; the communities you served became stronger because you got involved; the institutions you encountered became more trustworthy because you helped shape them.

The future of those institutions—it is now in your hands. 

Go challenge them, question them, reimagine them, and make them better. 

As you do so remember that your community here — your professors, classmates, our incredible staff, your Dartmouth community and family who made this journey possible — we are always here for you.

I cannot wait to see what you do from here. Congratulations.