Academics

On the road again

The Silk Road, the ancient network of trade routes linking Asia with Europe, also winds its way through Dartmouth, thanks to Theodore Levin, chair and professor of music and the Parents Distinguished Research Professor in the Humanities. Levin, an expert ethnomusicologist who has produced sound and video recordings for the Smithsonian Institution, is also the former executive director of cellist Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project.

The leaders

Although teaching classes such as French language and literature in the south of France during a Hanover winter can spark envy, leading Off-Campus Programs is very demanding. But faculty and staff embrace the challenges willingly because they see firsthand the benefits students derive from their experiences. More than 125 Dartmouth faculty are involved in Off-Campus Programs.

The last superpower

Foreign Policy magazine consistently rates Dartmouth's international relations curriculum as a leading program for undergraduates. This year, Dartmouth moved to eighth place in the Foreign Policy ranking. Government Professor Bill Wohlforth, a contributor to Foreign Policy, talks about his recent work analyzing the United States as the "last superpower".

Team effort

Arsenic and mercury remain the number one and number three most important chemicals of concern for human health worldwide, and Dartmouth hosts one of the leading programs conducting research into the impact of these metals on human health and their transport through ecosystems. Since 1995, the Toxic Metals Research Group has received more than $40 million from the Superfund Basic Research Program for research into the human health impact of exposure to arsenic and mercury.