The Rockefeller Center Board of Visitors (BoV) convened in November for its two-day biannual meeting. The BoV is comprised of Dartmouth College alumni who serve as advisors to the Director of the Center. Drawing from a wide range of backgrounds, the members represent academia, business, law, and non-profit organizations. This fall the Board welcomed two new members, Jason Giordano '00 and Joyce Campbell Giuffra '91.
The Board uses its time while back on campus to meet with faculty, staff, and students who collaborate with the Center and participate in courses and programming.
On Friday, Government Professor Brendan Nyhan spoke with Members about his Rockefeller Center-funded research on the health of U.S. democracy. Students were also on hand including Anthony Fosu '24 and Mehak Batra '24, Houston, TX who described how their interactions with the Center had enhanced their Dartmouth experiences.
Dhwani Kharel '22 and Nicole Beckman '20 joined as recent alums to share their experiences and to solicit advice from the Board about the next steps in their professional journeys. Board Members were delighted to share their wisdom and were impressed by what these alumni had already accomplished.
At a larger dinner of Board Members, faculty, staff, and Dartmouth leadership, Board Chair Tim Harrison, '78 joined fellow Board Member, Leah Wright Rigueur '03, in conversation about her research on her book, The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power, and her upcoming project on corruption in federal housing policy. It was a wonderful connection to Vice President and Center namesake Nelson A. Rockefeller '30's legacy of support for civil rights and real estate development.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Rockefeller Center, newly appointed Executive Director Anna Mahoney recognized the living former directors who were able to join for the event. A complete list of former directors includes Franklin Smallwood '51, 1983-1986, Richard Winter, 1986-1989, George Demko, 1989-1994, Linda Fowler, 1995-2000, Lynn Mather, 2000-2001 (acting), Linda Fowler, 2002-2004, Andrew Samwick, 2004-2019, Russ Muirhead, 2019-2020 (interim), Jason Barabas, 2020-present.
Board Members attending the meeting in person and virtually included Joyce Campbell Giuffra '91, Kal Alston '80, Catherine Solomon '82, Welton Chang '05, Maxine Lum Mauricio '93, R. Bruce Rich '70, Pete Sisitsky '97, Alvaro Saralegui '78, Jason Giordano '00, David Duckenfield '88, Timothy Harrison '78, Leah Wright Rigueur '03, Ann Kappler '79 and Mary Pavel '88.