"These people this fall would be examples of people who we would call household names," Wright said. "If you haven't heard of them, they're people we'd want you to meet."
Touted as a pioneer in the world of dance, Cunningham and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will take residence at Dartmouth from Oct. 2-7. His Montgomery Fellow Lecture, titled "In Conversation with Merce Cunningham," is scheduled to precede the dance company's two premier performances of "Xover" at the Hopkins Center for the Arts later in the week. Cunningham is considered by many to be the foremost living choreographer and was a standout American dancer earlier in his career.
He was identified for his fellowship last fall in conjunction with the Hop's efforts to bring him to campus for a performance series.
Robinson served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights from 1997 to 2002 after a seven-year term as the president of Ireland, in which capacity she focused on strengthening Ireland's connection with other countries and cultures, according to her U.N. biography. As high commissioner, Robinson has played a leading role in the U.N.'s efforts in Rwanda and China. Robinson will deliver her Montgomery Fellow Lecture, "Making Human Rights and the Compass," on Oct 9, and will be in residence at the College from Oct 7-11.
Winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize for chemistry, Cech began his tenure as president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2000. Cech discovered that an RNA molecule was capable of catalyzing a chemical reaction. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1987 and received the National Medal of Science in 1995. Cech will deliver "Exploring the Edges between Scientific Disciplines," his Montgomery Fellow Lecture, on Oct. 30.
Kenneth Montgomery '25 and wife Harle established the endowment in 1977 "to provide for the advancement of the academic realm of the College in ways that will significantly add to the quality and character thereof, making possible major new dimensions for, as well as extraordinary enrichments to, the educational experience offered primarily to undergraduate students within the Dartmouth community," according to the endowment's website. Harle Montgomery is a current member of the endowment's Steering Committee, which is charged with nominating and approving Montgomery fellows.
The committee is chaired by Provost Barry Scherr and generally operates two years in advance, Wright said. Both Robinson and Cech were selected to be among this fall's fellows in that time frame. This year's three selections signify a departure from the typical structure employed by the endowment, in which one fellow comes to Dartmouth and teaches a course for the term.
"Ideally we like to have somebody for a long period of time who can add to the curriculum, but we also want to have fairly distinguished people ... who can't teach all term," she said.
Montgomery Fellow Lectures are open to the public and, to keep the focus on students, seats are reserved for Dartmouth undergraduates. In addition to the main lectures, each fellow is scheduled to hold at least one smaller group session with Dartmouth students.
One aspect of the Montgomery Endowment that Wright identified as different from visiting programs at other institutions is that the fellows reside at the so-called Montgomery House, which will be under renovation for the upcoming term. When the site is not under construction, Wright said she believes the locale adds to the program's appeal.
"When students come [to Montgomery Fellow events] they go to the house," she said. "The students love this house."
