Thought Leadership

Great Issues in Energy, Climate, and Society

War. Protest. Ongoing civil rights struggles. Political instability. The burgeoning environmental movement. An ascendant youth culture. The Dartmouth Class of 1972's college years were marked by complex and rapid change that transformed the way Americans understood themselves and their world. 
 
With their 50th anniversary class reunion gift — an endowed lecture series focused on addressing today's great issues in energy, environment, climate, and sustainability — the Class of 1972 has given Dartmouth and the Irving Institute for Energy and Society an exciting new opportunity to explore the similarly complex great issues of our own time. This generous gift will allow the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society to bring experts and leaders from across the energy and sustainability landscape to speak on the critical challenges and opportunities we face today. 
 
Past and upcoming Class of 1972 lectures are featured below. 

Adrian Anderson

Fireside Chat on AI & Energy

4/24/26: A conversation with Adrian Anderson and Miranda Ballentine

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Abigail Ross Hopper '93 and Annie Kuster '78

From Capitol Hill to the Capital Markets

11/3/2025: A conversation on charting the clean energy future with Abigail Ross Hopper '93 & Anne McLane Kuster '78

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The Honorable Miranda Ballentine.

Career Paths in Energy & Sustainability

5/1/25: A conversation with the Honorable Miranda Ballentine

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A geothermal plant

The Future of Geothermal Energy

10/10/24: A conversation with Sarah Jewett '12, Andrew McAllister '87, and Rosi Kerr '97

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Andre de Ruyter with an Eskom backdrop behind him

André de Ruyter, Financing a Clean Energy Transition in Africa

View a video recording of our April 9, 2024 Class of 1972 lecture.

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Fisk Johnson

A Conversation with SC Johnson CEO Fisk Johnson

An 11/03/22 talk on the role of corporate responsibility, policy, and consumer choices in abating ocean plastic pollution.

William Schlesinger

William Schlesinger '72: The Energy-Climate Nexus

View a video of the inaugural Class of 1972 lecture from June 11, 2022

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