[ Background sounds ]
>> Governor Hassan, Chairman Mandel and members of the Board of Trustees, President Hanlon,
faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of Dartmouth College, this is a glorious day
for Hanover and for higher education.
It is also a day of immense privilege for me, as there is no place that I would choose to be
than here, on the green, celebrating Dartmouth's 18th president.
I first need to transport everyone here to Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan,
a place Bill Hanlon called home for 27 years.
There's a strong Michigan contingent here today.
We deeply admire Phil and we miss him.
[applause] Yes.
[chuckling] [applause] He made it clear, when he accepted the presidency
that a Dartmouth alum had to succeed him, as Michigan Provost,
so we turn to Dr. Martha Pollock, class of '79.
[ Applause ]
The academic enterprise at Michigan remains in very good hands.
Earlier this month, in a span of four days,
two remarkable events took place on campus, back at Michigan.
The first unfolded at our Business School, the Ross School of Business
and a worthy competitor of the Tuck Business School.
The school's lead benefactor, developer Stephen M. Ross, furthered his legacy at Michigan
with a gift of 200 million dollars.
The gift is the largest in the history of the University of Michigan.
It is one of the largest in all of American higher education.
We brought out the marching band, confetti, hundreds of students,
to celebrate this momentous occasion.
The second event took place about 80 hours later, on a beautiful Saturday night,
when more than 115,000 people came together at Michigan's stadium.
Imagine all the citizens of Hanover in one place, and multiply by 10,
and there would still be seats to fill in Michigan's stadium.
[laughter] The Michigan crowd that night was the largest in the history of college sports.
We brought out the marching band, special effects, a jet fly over, Beyonce,
and thousands of alumni and students.
It was, in a word, colossal.
With each of these spectacles, Michigan's school colors of maize and blue were everywhere.
But blending yellow and blue makes green.
And the big green of Dartmouth was very much a presence.
In fact, neither of these historic events would have been possible without the leadership
of Edmund Ezra Day, Dartmouth, Class of 1905.
Yes. [applause] Professor Day came to Ann Arbor to be chairman of the Economics Department.
But based on the time he spent here,
as an instructor at the Tucks School, he had bigger plans.
Michigan's Economic Department was housed in our literary college.
Professor Day felt business education required its own place in the academy
and he led the successful movement for a new, separate business school at Michigan.
He became its first dean.
He put in place a solid foundation for what is today one
of the world's leading business programs.
Building a successful business school wasn't enough for this Dartmouth man.
When the University of Michigan contemplated the need
for a new football stadium, it looked for advice.
Not from the athletic department, from the faculty.
Edmund Day oversaw that process too,
and his report on intercollegiate athletics was both thorough and thoughtful.
It was based on research and evidence.
He argued for a larger stadium, but was even more strenous about the proper role
of athletics in higher education.
He rightly said, "First and foremost, a university is a place of higher learning,
not a purveyor of popular entertainment."
Michigan would build a new football stadium, one that is today the largest in the country.
At the same time, and at Professor Day's urging, there would be greater faculty oversight,
more campus facilities for women athletes
and an extensive intermural program for all students to enjoy.
As I said, Edmund Day was thoughtful, and thorough.
Which brings me back here, to the green and to President Hanlon.
Just as Professor Day changed Michigan, so did Phil Hanlon.
The very qualities that made him an outstanding professor and Provost in Ann Arbor,
are perfect for leading one of the world's great liberal arts colleges in the 21st Century.
The academic enterprise at Dartmouth is in very good hands.
Phil is an accomplished mathematician and his expertise is encryption.
That means that he sees things that the rest of us cannot envision.
And his vision has always been of an engaged
and exciting learning environment for students and faculty.
His love of teaching and the liberal arts in unparalleled.
He believes in an undergraduate experience that changes student lives: in small classes,
with hands on experiences, innovative technologies,
and innovative, remarkable, teaching.
Phil himself is an effective memorable teacher
who taught undergraduate calculus while Michigan's Provost.
I understand that he is continuing his connection with the classroom
by teaching freshman mathematics here,
where Dartmouth students will gain a fascinating perspective of their president.
This commitment to teaching may sound standard in the Dartmouth community,
because Dartmouth excels at undergraduate education.
But at a major research university, like Michigan,
it is an exceptional philosophy and practice.
And Phil was our champion.
He will be just as supportive and creative about nurturing
and expanding learning opportunities at Dartmouth.
A strong, liberal arts education is the perfect skill set for the chaotic world
that today's graduates are entering.
As Provost, his acumen for fiscal control and investment
in the academic enterprise was every president's dream.
I've been a provost, and I know that we have several with us today.
It can be a thankless job managing resources
to support extremely bright people, with extremely good ideas.
No state was hit harder in the Great Recession than Michigan.
Over the past decade, our state support per student has dropped nearly 50% in real dollars.
50 percent.
But composure is Phil Hanlon's calling card.
The man does not flinch.
He steered the university through some of our most fiscally challenging years, all the while,
advancing academic excellence and impact.
This is profoundly critical, in an era when higher education is threatened.
Threatened by waning public confidence and those skeptical of the value of our contributions.
Phil Hanlon's fiscal leadership is a potent antidote to that cynicism.
President Hanlon brings one more quality, unique to, unique quality to Dartmouth.
Public and private universities have different missions and obligations.
It is one of the features of the diverse system of American higher education
that sets us apart from other nations.
Phil carries with him the ethos of a public institution,
one that will broaden the already extensive impact of Dartmouth.
He believes fiercely in the power of scholarship and service,
to address the many challenges our world faces today.
This is what great universities, private and public advocate, and more important, accomplish.
I know the reach of Dartmouth will flourish under the leadership of President Hanlon.
As Dartmouth president, Phil Hanlon extends a rich Michigan legacy
of producing college leaders.
Edmund Day, the Dartmouth alum who made such an impression
in Ann Arbor would conclude his exceptional career
with the presidency of Cornell University.
But before Michigan, these leaders had the distinctive experience of Dartmouth College.
It is a place that celebrates teaching and learning,
a place that embodies the infinite power of ideas, a place that builds leaders,
sends them into the world, and on very special days, like today,
welcomes them home to do their most important work.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]