Commentary

DARTMOUTH APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT, DR. JIM YONG KIM

A message from Dartmouth board of trustees chairman Ed Haldeman - March 2, 2009

Dear Members of the Dartmouth Community,

 

I am delighted to let you know that Dr. Jim Yong Kim has been elected the 17th President

of Dartmouth College by the Board of Trustees.  Jim is an educator, anthropologist and

physician who has provided visionary leadership in academia, public policy and global

health.  He will assume the presidency of Dartmouth effective July 1st, 2009, when

President Jim Wright completes his distinguished tenure.

 

Thanks to his inspiring and transformative leadership, Jim Yong Kim has had a far

reaching impact throughout his career - both through his teaching and the global

organizations he has led.  Jim, who currently serves as Chair of the Department of Global

Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has worked for more than 20 years to improve health in developing countries - first as co-founder and executive director of Partners In Health, a not-for-profit organization that supports health programs in poor

communities worldwide; and then, as Director of the HIV/AIDS department at the World

Health Organization (WHO), where he helped change the global response to that disease.  He has tackled some of the most complex global challenges in the world today by forging strong teams, building communities and developing new and innovative approaches to seemingly intractable problems.

 

As his academic and humanitarian work makes clear, Jim is incredibly passionate about

teaching young people - both inside and outside the classroom.  He sees education as not just about instilling knowledge, but about developing the leaders of tomorrow.  He has

been teaching and mentoring for more than two decades and teaches an undergraduate

class at Harvard today.  His classes have proven enormously popular (and constantly

oversubscribed), and he plans to continue to teach undergraduates at Dartmouth.

 

Jim's visionary work has earned him widespread - and well-deserved - international

recognition, including receiving a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship in 2003 and being

selected as one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2006.

He also was honored for his professional achievements in 2004 with election to the

prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Jim immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a young boy. 

He was raised in Muscatine, Iowa (where he was valedictorian and president of his high

school class and played quarterback for the football team).  He graduated magna cum

laude from Brown University in 1982 before receiving M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from

Harvard.  He is married to Dr. Younsook Lim, a pediatrician. The couple have two sons, an

eight-year-old and a newborn.  We have set up a multi-media website at

http://www.dartmouth.edu/presidentelect/ so that you can learn even more about Jim and

his many accomplishments. 

 

Jim's enthusiastic selection by the Search Committee and election by the Board of Trustees resulted from an extensive and rigorous search process.  The Search Committee, which was led by Trustee Al Mulley '70 and included trustees, faculty, and student and alumni representatives, spent nearly a year soliciting input from the community and identifying and reviewing a wide range of candidates.

 

The committee worked hard to find someone who could build on the tremendous work that

Jim Wright has done for Dartmouth in his 11 years as President.  Under his leadership, we

have grown our faculty, launched new academic initiatives, enhanced student life,

expanded financial aid, and significantly improved the campus, including an expansion and renewal of athletic facilities.  Jim and his wife Susan have carefully stewarded this

institution we all hold dear to ensure it remains as vibrant as ever as we usher in the next

President.  They have our eternal gratitude and undying friendship.

 

It is clear we have found a successor who knows what a special place Dartmouth is.  In our many conversations with Jim Yong Kim over the past few months, he has shown a deep appreciation for Dartmouth's unique character and the exceptional education it offers.  He's told us that throughout his career, he has seen what we have always known: that the loyalty and passion of our alumni, faculty, staff and students are unrivaled by any other school.  Jim also believes the College truly excels at developing the sort of individuals who will be the leaders of tomorrow - and in driving forward the kind of collaborative, interdisciplinary work that will be critical to success in the 21st century.  Together with all of you, he wants to help build on Dartmouth's great traditions, further strengthen the unique experience it offers and continue arming our young people with the skills they need to go out and change the world.

 

Indeed, having reflected on Jim's many accomplishments over the past 20 years, it is clear

that he follows in the long tradition of Dartmouth Presidents who have made a significant

mark both in higher education and on the world stage.  Like former President John Sloan

Dickey, who had an impact on a global scale as a diplomat and who brought that

international perspective to the presidency, Jim has provided visionary leadership on a

wide range of global issues. 

 

All of us on the Board of Trustees - as well as the Search Committee - believe that Jim

embodies the ideals of learning, innovation, team-building and community service that lie

at the heart of Dartmouth's mission.  We are confident he is the ideal person to help build

on the many achievements of President Jim Wright and his talented team.  And, we know

that you will enjoy getting to know Jim and his family as he assumes his new role in

Hanover and leads Dartmouth into a new era of global distinction and achievement.  

 

Sincerely,

 

Ed Haldeman '70

Chair, Dartmouth College Board of Trustees

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