Dartmouth College Hosts Ivy Graduate Summit Leadership Conference
Katie Johnston
For a New England November, the
weather was unusually warm. But for the graduate student delegates of seven
other Ivy League schools who converged on Dartmouth this weekend, this was an
unexpected bonus. "We all brought gloves and hats and scarves," one
University of Pennsylvania student said. "But this is great – even I could
live here!" The occasion? The fourth Ivy Summit, hosted November
17-19 by Dartmouth's Graduate Student Council and Graduate Studies
Office.
In spite of the atypical
weather, graduate students from all of the other Ivy League campuses were
suitably impressed with Dartmouth's academic community and the conference
program. The weekend conference kicked off on Friday afternoon with a reception
at the DOC House, which received complements on its rustic simplicity, followed
by a barbeque and, to top the evening off, s'more making by the fireplace.
English Professor Donald Pease, Chair of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
Program, gave the opening address to much applause, and then fielded questions
from students across a range of programs at the other schools. After the
students had all filled up on food, they went to Murphy's for a social hour and
swapped stories about graduate life across the Northeast.
Saturday's sessions included a
panel on international student issues, led by Stephen Silver, director of the
International Office, and a talk on mentoring led by Roger Sloboda, Ira Allen
Eastman Professor of Biological Sciences. Sloboda was named an Education Fellow
in the Life Sciences by the National Academies and attended a summer session in
2005, wherein he attended sessions on facilitating discussions on issues such
as mentoring. The lively discussion on Saturday went well into the students'
scheduled lunch hour, as they insisted on exploring this important topic.
Afternoon breakout sessions
were student-facilitated discussions on issues including graduate student
community, student governance, social responsibility, as well as career and
professional development. Students were split into groups such that members of
different schools would be able to discuss issues with one another, and then
converged at the end of the day to talk about their goals as individual schools
for the upcoming year. The afternoon sessions were followed by dinner at the
Hanover Inn, where Dean of Graduate Studies Charles Barlowe gave a short
welcome, and, along with Vice Provost Martin Wybourne, chatted with students
throughout dinner. Afterwards students attended a social at the Canoe Club,
where DJ Trolld created an energetic dance floor. Sunday morning's wrap-up
breakfast at the Hanover Inn gave the students a chance to evaluate the
conference, and to plan for next year's Ivy Summit, which will be held at
Brown. Thanks to the efforts of the planning committee Cary Boyd, Katie
Johnston, Sara Sinclair, Matt Mahoney, Matt Sturdevant, and Kerry Landers,
Assistant Dean of Graduate Student Affairs, as well as the support of the
Graduate Student Council and the Graduate Studies Office, the weekend was a
great success and a wonderful opportunity to show off graduate student life at
Dartmouth.
Pictured above are Steve Silver, Director of the International Office, Diyong Xu, President Chinese Student and Scholars Association, Melissa Lathrop, International Student Mentor, and Cary Boyd, Chair of Ivy Summit Planning Committee, all participants in the International Graduate Student Panel.
