Dartmouth News: Inauguration Recap

Today's Inauguration was marked by a number of festivities and flamboyant affairs. The scene on the Green was actually more impressive than that set up annually at Graduation. There were plenty of media, two stages, in fact, and a plethora of food booths serving free multicultural dishes from "around the world": Taste of Africa, Gusanoz, and Yama were all dishing out their diverse delicacies.

Laudatory speeches by highly recognizable figures --a letter of support from the President of Korea, a speech by Dr. Paul Farmer-- and a performance by the Dartmouth Native American group Occom Song, highlighted the impressive afternoon.

In the end it was Dr. Kim, of course, who's speech was most important.

He took advantage of his allotted time to remind us of what makes Dartmouth what it is; of its tradition* and its place in history as a nearly 250 year-old institution of higher learning and excellence, and one that was recently named by US News and World Report the number one school in the world for undergraduate teaching; of a place where collaboration and "sweetness," as he called it, were hallmarks of the learning experience; and as a place where the great issues will continue to be discussed, challenged, and overcome as students are trained to become great thinkers, and doers--the Kims and Farmers of tomorrow.

He echoed the Dartmouth aphorism addressing the Class of 2013 and others saying that "the world's problems are your problems," and what better way to understand their complex nature and interactions than to begin their study and combat in Hanover, in an undergraduate, teaching-focused environment. It was to this end that the audience reacted most approvingly, rupturing into spontaneous applause at Kim's suggestion that faculty step up to bat with students and reinvigorate and challenge themselves as well in resurrecting the mandatory senior-year Great Issues course of John Sloan Dickey's day. This is the first step by a new President with an impressive history of accomplishments. Dartmouth awaits his next --our next.

*I'm pretty sure I was the only one shouting-out "Lest the Old Traditions fail!" during the Alma Mater... Item 2 on Kim's agenda.