Back to Class Faculty Lecture Series

Ross Virginia, Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and Director, Institute of Arctic Studies As polar ice on land and sea retreats from rapid global warming, the specter for international conflict over newly exposed natural resources may increase. This talk will consider how the environments at the ends of the Earth are changing and how international politics, through conflict or cooperation, will shape the future of the poles. (vs. Cornell)

Charles Wheelan '88, Senior Lecturer and Policy Fellow at the Rockefeller Center Professor Wheelan argues that the United States needs an insurgency of the rational: a generation of Americans who are fed up with the current political system, who believe we can do better, and most important, who are ready to do something about it. Wheelan has laid out a strategy for electing a handful of Centrist U.S. Senators who could exercise extraordinary intellectual and political leverage from the political middle. (vs. Columbia)

Nancy Marion, Associate Dean of Faculty for the Social Sciences and George J. Records 1956 Professor of Economics The Eurozone countries face three separate crises—a banking crisis, a sovereign debt crisis, and a growth crisis. Policymakers face a dilemma because efforts to alleviate one crisis can worsen the others. Policymakers also recognize that real progress in resolving the Eurozone crises may require a level of cost sharing among member countries that is difficult to achieve politically. (vs. Bucknell)

Chris Trimble, Adjunct Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business "Genius is one percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration." Edison said it more than a century ago, but nobody listened. When companies get excited about innovation, they tend to invest nearly all their energies in that initial one percent. But the real challenge is not the idea; it's the execution of that idea. Professor Trimble, an expert on making innovation happen in large organizations, will discuss the ideas presented in his latest book Beyond the Idea: How to Execute Innovation in Any Organization. (vs. Yale/Homecoming)

Vicki May, Associate Professor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth Dartmouth engineering students are designing, analyzing, and creating solutions to real world problems using innovative processes and tools. Whether it's a $300 house for Haiti's poor, a play structure for The Haven, or a new medical device, Thayer students are leading the way in engineering innovation. New tools such as laser-cutters and 3D printers in the Machine Shop at Thayer allow students to design and build prototypes to test out their innovative ideas. Professor May will discuss the unique programs at Thayer and the ways in which the school is reaching out to students who might not think engineering makes sense for them. (vs. Holy Cross)

Professor Steve Swayne draws from readings in philosophy and neuroscience; the experiences of his Dartmouth students; and examples of people in places such as Finland, Venezuela, China, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to demonstrate that music’s ubiquity and invisibility are making it less meaningful to more people in the world.

Professor Stephen Gilchrist discusses the exhibition Crossing Cultures: The Owen and Wagner Collection of Contemporary Aboriginal Art.

Bart Thurber, curator of European Art at the Hood Museum of Art and Barbara Will, Professor of English discusses the close relationship between Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. Dartmouth's own magnificent Picasso painting, Guitar on a Table (1912), journeyed from Stein's collection in Paris to Hanover, New Hampshire.

Professor Jamie Horton presents a unique performance and dramatic reading of poems, stories, and excerpts from some of Dartmouth’s most loved authors, including Gina Barreca '79; Louise Erdrich '76; Robert Frost, Class of 1896; Theodor “Seuss” Geisel ’25; Annette Gordon-Reed '81; and Norman Maclean ’24.

Andrew Friedland, Professor of Environmental Studies and the Richard and Jane Pearl Professor in Environmental Studies. Most governments in the world have formally agreed to address climate change, but ours has not. Professor Friedland will examine the role of higher education, businesses, and individuals in mitigating climate change, and make a case for informed, personal action as part of the portfolio of responses that should be employed.

There's no question that the U.S. health care system needs mending. Media attention ricochets from Washington to academia, but who really has the solution? Dr. Mulley will examine the role of data in health care delivery, the importance of the patient's voice, and how pundits and politicians can work more effectively to help foster productive debate.

Daryl Press, Associate Professor of Government. The federal deficit, the national debt, and the looming increase in entitlement spending for retiring baby boomers are causing U.S. leaders to reconsider national priorities. Facing the prospect of major tax increases and large cuts to Medicare and Social Security, Americans may seek savings in the sole giant discretionary spending program: the Department of Defense. How would such cuts affect U.S. foreign policy? Would they leave us less safe? How might the U.S. prioritize among its current global security commitments? Which allies would be cut loose? Is this the twilight of the era of American global primacy?

Lucas Swaine, Associate Professor of Government. Should those holding high office be prepared to act in immoral ways for the good of the country? Must American leaders be willing to do whatever it takes to win, in a world full of ruthless and unscrupulous adversaries? Professor Swaine considers what kinds of actions political leaders in democracies should be willing—or unwilling—to perform in office. He addresses these questions by bringing the moral character of leaders into focus and applying character to such issues as lying in politics, killing civilians in war, and torture.

Matthew Slaughter, Associate Dean, MBA Program, and the Signal Companies Professor of Management, Tuck School of Business. The world continues to struggle with the aftermath of the world financial crisis and with building a sustainable recovery from the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Many business policy challenges lie ahead. How and when will countries start to unwind the historic loosening of monetary and fiscal policy they undertook during the crisis? Do additional shocks await in European sovereign debt, U.S. sovereign debt, or Chinese real estate? How will governments manage opportunities and tensions over trade, investment, tax, and currency policies? Professor Slaughter discusses some of the key risks and opportunities that the global economy presents to business and government leaders today.

Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, Professor of English; Chair, Department of English; Kathe Tappe Vernon Professor in Biography

Hany Farid, Professor of Computer Science; William H. Neukom 1964 Distinguished Professor of Computational Science