Did President James Wright say, "Dartmouth is a university in all but name"? If so, what did he mean by that?
Dartmouth is committed to its traditional liberal arts undergraduate education, and will continue, quite consciously, to call itself a College. In 2005, President Wright told the Alumni Council, "We seek always to have here the finest undergraduate program in the country. This is our niche, our legacy, and our ambition." (Full text of the speech)
Here's exactly what President Wright said in his 1998 inaugural address:
"When I spoke to the Dartmouth community last spring upon the announcement of my election as president, I reiterated what my predecessors in the Wheelock Succession had earlier acknowledged: that Dartmouth College is a university in all but name. What was true in President Dickey's day is even more true today. If neither of the descriptive labels - college or university - fits us easily, that is eminently acceptable, because we are comfortable with what we are and with what we aspire to be. Typically colleges are primarily concerned with undergraduate education and teaching. Universities are primarily engaged in graduate education and also place a greater emphasis on faculty research. We at Dartmouth are proud to call ourselves a College, recognizing that Dartmouth is a college that has many of the best characteristics of a university. We are a university in terms of our activities and our programs, but one that remains a college in name and in its basic values and purposes. In this paradox, in this tension, lies our identity and our strengths. (Read the complete speech)
Dartmouth has had professional schools for most of its existence. The Dartmouth Medical School (1797) was the fourth such school founded in the United States, while the Thayer School of Engineering (1867) and the Tuck School of Business (1900) were the first schools of their type.
In 2005, just over 1,500 graduate students were enrolled across all programs, including the Arts & Sciences. Faculty in all departments and schools collaborate frequently as a result of Dartmouth's size and scale - to the benefit of our undergraduates.
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