1968 Class Projects
Class Projects Index
ARTS LEGACY
- Project Green Light
- Learn more about the Class of 1968 Arts Legacy Project
ART
- Roberta - painting by William Reid
- The Frederick Douglass Bust
- The Zia Navajo Bowl
MUSIC
- Class of 1968 Fanfare & Processional
- The VOX Concerto
OTHER
- Black History at Dartmouth
- The Dartmouth Vietnam Project
- Maple Syrup for Finals Week Pancake Night
- The 50th Reunion Project - Freshman Trip Fund
- The Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (now part of the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth)
Project Green Light
Project Green Light was conceived by our Arts Legacy Committed member Don Marcus. The objective is to support talented undergraduate artists by providing upfront funds to underwrite the costs of new or in-progress work. The selection process will show preference for projects characterized by innovation, imagination, and cultural relevance. Risk taking is encouraged, as is the ability to think independently. Submission to PGL would also be open to collective projects devised by multiple student-artists.
The cost will total $25,000 over a 5-year period at $5000 per year. After five years, there will be an opt-out window for both the College and the Class.
The first winner has been announced!
A public announcement will allow us to provide details soon.
Class of 68 Fanfare and Processional Project
The Class of 68 summer meeting of July 11, 2020 agreed to sponsor a three-year musical invitational, that is 3 composers over 3 consecutive years will be invited to compose a fanfare and processional to be used at the College’s Commencement ceremonies. The composer’s fee will be $5,000 and the College will have unrestricted rights to use the composition in the future. The compositions will also be played for our class reunion in 3 years. At that time, we can perhaps get some sense if any of the compositions might become Commencement standards, that is, used every year or often.
The first composer to be invited to compose a fanfare and processional will be Noah Luna, composer of the Orozco Cello Concerto played by the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra in May, 2019, and whose melodic sensibilities were well-received by the audience and the 68’s in the audience. Mr. Luna composed the fanfare and processional you will hear on the Class of 1968 Suite page. For a variety of reasons we never realized our goal of commissioning 3 compositions.
Black History at Dartmouth
Our classmate Woody Lee recalls: I was one of 12 Black Americans and one African student who entered Dartmouth with the Class of 1968. We believed we were among the first Blacks to reach the Hanover Plain. Should we have known that Dartmouth historians had written in 1913, “Many young men of African lineage have entered the College. The College had shown an unfailing hospitality to the Negro, even when the doors of other institutions were closed against him.” Nearly 200 Black men had preceded us at the College, a discovered truth still not fully understood 50 years after our graduation. Read more about the history of black students at Dartmouth.
The VOX Concerto
Commissioned by our classmate Roger Arvid Anderson as part of his Concerto Initiative project, the world premiere of Andres Martin's VOX Concerto for Violincello (known to most of us as simply cello) featuring Amos Yang, cello, was presented by the Pioneer Valley Symphony at the Tillis Performance Hall, Bromery Center for the Arts in Amherst, MA on March 19, 2022.
Roberta - a Painting by William Reid
The painting by William Reid was done in Mexico in 1949 while he was a student of Jose Clemete Orozco, beloved of all denizens of the reserve room in the basement of Baker Library. See the painting and read more about William Reid.
The Dartmouth Vietnam Project
History Professor Ed Miller, a historian of the Vietnam war, has been building a digital archive of personal testimonies about the Vietnam war era. Prof. Miller trains Dartmouth undergraduates to interview alumni, faculty and other members of the Dartmouth community about their experiences. At the May, 2019 meeting, the Class Committee unanimously voted to commit $10,000 to support the Dartmouth Vietnam Project. The Fall 2019 newsletter explained more about the project.
You can now listen to most of the interviews; see The Dartmouth Vietnam Project. There are several other related webpages that describe the project, list the interviewers and present a photo gallery.
The Frederick Douglass Bust
This exciting project was the brainchild of our classmate Roger Anderson. Roger, who wrote a book about sculptor, Bruce Wolfe, arranged with the sculptor to produce a second casting of a Frederick Douglass bust on display in an outdoor setting at Hillsdale College. At the October 2019 meeting, the Class Committee voted to fund the production of the Frederick Douglass bust which will be displayed in the Rauner Special Collections Library. Production of the bust will be followed closely by Roger and he will send periodic updates with photos that will be posted on a page devoted to the project. Learn more now and see and come back regularly to see the progress.
The Zia Navajo Bowl
Another exciting project proposed by our classmate Roger Anderson. In consultation with the Director of the Hood Museum, John Stomberg, and then new Native American Curator, Jami Powell, the Class of 1968 has purchased a Navajo clay bowl as a foundational piece for the the Hood's Native American Art collection. This aquisition represents the Class' commitment to President Hanlon's call for Dartmouth to become a leader in Native American Studies, including art. Learn more on the Native American Art page.
Maple Syrup at Finals Week Pancake Night
In 2022 the Class of '68 began funding the acquisition of maple syrup for the Finals Week Pancake Night. We've continued to this once or twice a year since starting this project. The project has generated good will for the class and is much appreciated by current undergraduates. Learn more and see the photos. This year we hope to be able to obtain the syrup from classmate Steve Elliott's Elliott Acres.
The Class of 1968 50th Reunion Project provides permanent funding for Freshman Trips
The idea for the class 50th Reunion project was first suggested in 2008 at our 40th reunion, appropriately, on the lawn behind the Moosilauke Lodge. Our original goal was to provide an endowment that would fully fund the Freshman Trips. In consultation with Dan Nelson, then Director of Outdoor Programs, we focused on endowing Trips in a way that would make it possible for all incoming first year students to participate regardless of financial means. At the time of our 50th reunion the endowment reached $1.8 million, just short of our $2 million goal. You can still contribute to the endowment either through a gift to the College designating the Class of 1968 First Year Trips Fund as the recipient of the gift or you can continue to contribute on the class dues form.
Welcome to Dartmouth Entrepreneurship
DEN supports students, staff, faculty and alumni in moving ideas into new ventures.
The Class of '68 has actively supported the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN) with annual contributions of $5000 over several years. Our support has had a significant impact as described below and the Class Committee has decided to put further contributions to the DEN on hold while we fund other worthy projects; see above.
Learn more about the Office of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer (OETT) and the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network on the College website. This Power Point presentation features two previous projects funded by the Class of 1968.
The most recent project we've helped to fund involves Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Art as conceived by Eric Van Hove.