Stories That Caught Our Attention, and Yours

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A look back at news and views from 2025 at Dartmouth.

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From hosting a global summit with the United Nations Development Programme to celebrating the grand reopening of the Hopkins Center for the Arts, it’s been a busy year on campus. Here’s a look at the stories, photos, and videos that drew people in and helped define the year.

 

2025 Top Photos

Top Reads in 2025

These are the stories you loved and kept coming back to. We think they’re pretty great, too.

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Commencement speaker Sandra Oh leads graduates and the audience in dancing
Sandra Oh Gets Graduates to ‘Dance It Out’

On a joyful June day, Dartmouth conferred 2,178 degrees at Commencement.

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therabot
First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits

Study participants likened Dartmouth’s AI-powered “Therabot” to working with a therapist. 

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Shonda Rhimes with the rendering of the res hall
Historic Gift From Shonda Rhimes ’91 Names Residence Hall

A $15 million donation from the acclaimed producer backs Dartmouth’s housing vision.

Read about the support for Alumnae Hall and the Class of 1989 Hall, too.

Moments We’re Especially Proud Of

This year wasn’t short on big moments. These milestones show how far we’ve come and how our community is shaping what comes next.

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Newly renovated Hopkins Center for the Arts
Dartmouth Ushers In a New Era of the Arts On Campus

Thousands celebrate the new Daryl and Steven Roth Wing and the reopening of the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

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General Joycelyn Elders engages with students
Dartmouth-UNDP Symposium: ‘There Is Hope Here’

Attendees heard a call for coordinated collective action on youth mental health.

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Photos from Dialogue events
Undergraduates Are Embracing Dartmouth Dialogues

The campuswide initiative is shifting student culture around open discourse.

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Samantha Pehl and Katie Lenhoff
Dartmouth Marks Milestone in Promoting Mental Health

The community reflects on broad-based efforts to support student well-being.

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A hologram of a globe with the Davidson Institute logo
Dartmouth Launches Davidson Institute for Global Security

Gifts totaling $34 million seed research and engagement in a changing world order.

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Evergreen logo and student
Announcing Evergreen, an AI Tool for Student Well-Being

The app being built by students and faculty provides personalized guidance and support.

Read more stories about mental health and wellness and Dartmouth Dialogues.

Research That Resonated

From Indigenous farming to human behavior to space weather, Dartmouth researchers asked big questions and found answers that shape our understanding of the world around us.

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Raised agricultural beds
Archaeologists Find Intensive Indigenous Farming in Michigan

Ancestral Menominee farmers reworked the soil to create raised fields.

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Harrington Chang and Rockmore pose together
The Patterns of Elites Who Conceal Their Assets Offshore

A study by three Dartmouth professors finds that where an oligarch comes from correlates with how they achieve offshore secrecy.

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Graphic of Earth/a globe with a red and green wavy across America
Study: Winter Jet Stream Was Erratic Before Climate Change

A Dartmouth team finds volatile phases predate significant climate change effects.

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Rendering of Earth with bands around it
Dartmouth-Led NASA Mission Selected for Next Phase

Physics and astronomy professor Robyn Millan will head a nationwide team working to study Earth’s magnetosphere.

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David Blanchflower
An Expert on Happiness Uncovers a Worrying Trend

Economist David Blanchflower tracks “a collapse in the well-being of young people.”

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Tick
In the Northeast, 50% of Adult Ticks Carry Lyme Disease

Study maps tick abundance and Lyme disease bacteria prevalence over 30 years.

Read more stories about Dartmouth research over the past year and subscribe to our Innovation & Impact newsletter.

Stories That Inspired Us

Dartmouth has no shortage of inspiring people, moments, and ideas. Here are a few that made this year shine.

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Noah da Silva and Esmeralda Abreu Jerez
Abreu Jerez ’25 and da Silva ’25 Named Rhodes Scholars

The two alums will study epidemiology and paleobiology, respectively, at Oxford.

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Grace Wilkins speaks to an audience
Dartmouth Political Union Addresses Political Violence

Over a shared meal, students and professors talk about how to combat polarization.

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Grid of awardees
Thirty-Two From Dartmouth Offered Fulbright Awards

Students and alums in the record cohort continue to engage globally.

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Women's rugby group hug
Athletics Builds Competitors Striving for Excellence in Life

A fresh approach through sports puts a focus on winning and wellness.

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2025 AAAS fellows
Four Dartmouth Professors Named AAAS Fellows

The faculty members are among 471 scientists and innovators to be honored this year.

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Sachi Schmidt-Hori
How One Professor Defused Online Hate, One Conversation at a Time

When controversy about the video game Assassin’s Creed Shadows erupted into online harassment, Sachi Schmidt-Hori showed how one-on-one conversations can lower the temperature.

Sandra Oh ‘Dance It Out’

Join Sandra Oh as she teaches the importance of kindness and how to “dance it out” for emotional well-being.

Three Terms in 30 Seconds

Every day from September 13, 2024 to June 6, 2025, Luke Trevisan ’28 photographed the same view from his dorm window in Wheeler.

Tour of the Hood Museum (Gen Z edition)

We let Gen Z write the marketing script . . . so pull up to the #HoodMuseum with Director John Stomberg

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Bird
Songbird Research Takes Flight

Miranda Zammarelli, Guarini, was a graduate student at Dartmouth for just nine days when her interests in birds, history, and archives converged in a set of old filing cabinets in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

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Students hold a potato between their foreheads
Looking at Dartmouth Powwow

The Grand Entry for the 53rd Annual Dartmouth Powwow took place on May 10, 2025.

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Collage of 100 Days speakers
100 Days Speaker Series Playlist

The Rockefeller Center and Dartmouth Dialogues brought prominent speakers from across the political spectrum to campus to discuss the Trump administration’s first 100 days.

Milestones at the Schools

There was a lot happening at Dartmouth’s five schools, including the launch of the new School of Arts and Sciences.

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Jon Kull, Sian Leah Beilock, and Yueyun Zia
Guarini Launches New Initiative to Support Graduate Students and Postdocs

GuariniGRAD reflects Dartmouth’s growing investment in graduate education and postdoctoral training.

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Grid of people speaking
New Report Describes Rural Health Challenges and Action Steps

Geisel and Dartmouth Health officials discuss key insights to address disparities.

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DEE tutor training session
Major Grant Funds Mentor Program to Boost Degrees in Engineering

The Sherman Fairchild Foundation awarded a $12.5 million grant to advance near-peer mentoring programs where seniors, juniors, and sophomores advise first-year students taking engineering courses.

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Faculty laughing together
School of Arts and Sciences Takes Shape

The school is already sparking new collaborations between staff and faculty.

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Collage of Tuck events and community members
125 Years of Tuck: A Year of Celebration

On campus and across the world, the Tuck community is coming together to celebrate the school’s enduring legacy and education of future leaders.

As we look back on 2025, these moments offer a clear sense of who we are and the ways that we’re striving to be greater. The year laid important groundwork for all that comes next.