Dartmouth College is a four-year private liberal arts college located in Hanover, New Hampshire (USA). Founded in 1769 by Rev. Eleazar Wheelock under royal charter of King George III of Great Britain, Dartmouth's original purpose was to "Christianize", instruct and educate "Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land ... and also of English Youth and any others." Dartmouth is the smallest college in the Ivy League.
In 1819, Dartmouth College was the subject of the historic Dartmouth College case, in which the State of New Hampshire attempted to amend the College's royal charter to make the school a public university. Daniel Webster, an alumnus of the class of 1801, presented the school's case to the Supreme Court, which found the amendment of Dartmouth's charter to be an illegal violation of a contract, preventing New Hampshire from taking over the college. Webster concluded his defense with the words It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it.
Dartmouth's motto is Vox Clamantis in Deserto, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness" (a reference to John the Baptist as well as to the college's location on what was once the frontier of European settlement). The school's color is a forest green. The sports teams go by the name Big Green, a nineteenth-century nickname that is considered more politically correct than the old mascot itself, the Dartmouth Indian. Dartmouth was strictly a men's college until 1972, when women were admitted as students.
At about the same time, Dartmouth adopted its famous D Plan, under which year-round operation allowed an increase in the student body (with the addition of women) without enlarging campus accommodations. The year was divided into four quarters corresponding with the seasons; students were required to be in residence for at least one summer over their college career, and spend at least one autumn, winter, or spring term on leave. Although new dormitories have since been built, the size of the student body has also been increased and the D plan remains in effect.
Dartmouth is governed by its private Trustees, which include the college President, the state Governor, seven (Charter) trustees nominated by the board itself, and seven (Alumni) trustees selected by the Association of Alumni of Dartmouth College, a body created in 1854 representing over 60,000 alumni.
Dartmouth College comprises the undergraduate college of roughly 5,000 students as well as a small graduate school, and three other professional institutes, the Dartmouth Medical School (1797), the Thayer School of Engineering (1867), and the Tuck School of Business (1900).
Famous graduates and students include former US Senator Daniel Webster, former Chief Justice of the United States Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, Theodor Seuss Geisel (later to become known as cartoonist and writer Dr. Seuss), and former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller of New York.
Dartmouth was formed because of the efforts of Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, Rev. Nathaniel Whittaker, and Rev. Samson Occom, an early Native American minister. The funds for the college were raised by these ministers in England through an English trust whose benefactors and trustees included several prominent English statesmen, including King George III's Secretary of State for the Colonies in North America, William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, for whom Dartmouth College is named. Dartmouth College is the ninth and last colonial college. |
