One of our Class - Give a Rouse! Dear Dartmouth Graduates, I am delighted to announce that Martha Johnson Beattie, a 1976 graduate and former President of the Alumni Council, will become Dartmouth's Vice President for Alumni Relations on May 9. Martha has had a 30-year career as a teacher of math, a crew coach, and a volunteer leader and board member for a range of charities and schools. The common theme throughout has been her focus on inspiring people to work toward a common goal, and her impressive record of developing their skills and knowledge, enabling them to succeed. This appointment follows a nationwide search within the Dartmouth alumni body that involved extensive consultation with alumni, facilitated by the search firm of Isaacson Miller. The search committee was led by Peter Hackett '75, the Avalon Professor in the Humanities and Chair of Dartmouth's Theater Department, and included Veree Brown '93, First Vice President, Association of Alumni; Dave Hodgson '78, Chair, President's Leadership Council; Jeffrey Horrell, Dean of Libraries and Librarian of the College; Sylvia Racca '83a, Executive Director, Dartmouth College Fund; Tom Peisch '70, President, Alumni Council; and Ralph Manuel '58 T'59, Class of 1958 Executive Committee and Former Class President. I am grateful to the committee for their insights and critical role in the process. A member of Dartmouth's first four-year class to matriculate women, Martha earned an A.B. magna cum laude, majoring in mathematics. She started her career at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where she both taught math and coached skiing and varsity boys and girls crew. From there she moved to Seattle, where she again taught and coached the Lakeside School girls' crew. In 1983 she was named head coach for the U.S. Women's Junior National Crew Team; under her leadership the team achieved the best international finish of any U.S. Junior Girls Eight to date. She's the founder of one of the first masters women's crews in the U.S. Her coaching career continued at Selwyn House School, Hanover High School, Winsor School, and Dartmouth College. One of the constants in Martha's life has been Dartmouth. Following graduation she became involved in class fundraising and reunion committee work, and has been active as an alumni admissions interviewer. In 2001 she joined the Alumni Council and was elected president of the Council in 2006. Martha recognized the need to improve two-way communications between the College and the alumni. Working with fellow councilors, she initiated creation of and ultimately chaired the Alumni Liaison Committee, a group that meets regularly with members of the Board of Trustees to convey alumni sentiment on a range of topics. In 2006 she received a Dartmouth College Citation as co-chair of a fundraising effort that achieved the highest percentage of donors for a 30th reunion. And in 2010, she was chosen for the Dartmouth College Alumni Award, the College's highest honor for alumni service. The Vice President for Alumni Relations is charged with strengthening connections with Dartmouth's 70,000 alumni and engaging them in the life of the College. As a member of the senior leadership team within the Advancement division, the Vice President also plays an active role with colleagues in developing strategies for outreach to alumni and parents, communications, and fundraising. Martha and husband Jim '76 are the parents of three children. Their son Sam graduated from Dartmouth in 2007 and their daughter Nell in 2009; their daughter Sarah is Class of 2011 at Claremont McKenna College in California. During the period of the search, Patsy Fisher '81, who directs Class and Club Activities in Alumni Relations, has served as Acting Vice President. She has done an excellent job leading alumni activities, chairing a task force on strategic outreach for both Alumni Relations and Development, sponsoring an effort to reimagine reunions, and increasing significantly Trustee involvement in alumni events on and off campus. President Kim and I are very grateful to Patsy for her leadership during this time of transition, and we look forward to welcoming another daughter of Dartmouth, Martha Beattie, back to the Hanover Plain. Sincerely, Carolyn A. Pelzel '54a Senior Vice President for Advancement