The Class of 1989 has raised $30 million to fund a new residential building on West Wheelock Street, the College announced today. Construction of the new facility, which will include the Class of 1989 Hall and a currently unnamed hall, will add 150 to 200 new beds to campus.
The gift, which was made possible by contributions from 609 members of the Class of 1989, is the first of its kind to fund a residence hall, according to Dartmouth News. Trustee Elizabeth Loughlin ’89, who led fundraising efforts alongside 37 classmates, told The Dartmouth that she feels “pride and gratitude” for the support the effort received.
“The idea that over 600 of my classmates — out of 1,000 — were willing to support this project and wanted to do something for Dartmouth that would have an impact on every student moving forward … makes me so proud and grateful to be a member of the Class of [1989],” Loughlin said.
According to Dartmouth News, the contribution ties with a $30 million donation from Thomas Russo ’77 and Gina Russo ’77 — announced last September to construct the planned Russo Hall — for the largest gift for undergraduate housing in Dartmouth’s history. Both buildings are part of the College’s “broader goal” to build “over 1,000 new beds” for undergraduate, graduate student, faculty and staff housing by 2033, according to senior vice president for operations Josh Keniston.
“To have alumni support at the level of the Class of [1989] speaks volumes to how important this is to our community,” Keniston said.
The new building will likely be built alongside another residential facility on the current lots of 37, 41 and 43 West Wheelock, according to Keniston. While the College previously owned 37 West Wheelock, it purchased the latter two in June 2024.
Keniston added that the choice to establish two halls within one building aims to create “smaller little neighborhoods within the building.”
According to Loughlin, members of the Class of 1989 were inspired by previous group fundraising efforts — for example, those that led to the Class of 1953 Commons, Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center and Dartmouth Hall. The class requested to fund a residence hall specifically after learning that the College intended to break ground on new residential buildings, she added.
“Housing really resonated with my class because we know how significant the needs are for housing and also to have the space to be able to renovate the other dorms,” Loughlin said.
According to Loughlin, the “seed group of people” behind the idea wanted to “inspire the class” to raise the money together rather than put their individual names on the building. Leaders of the fundraising effort began reaching out to other class members last spring through class letters, individual texts and emails and in person at the class’s 35th reunion last year, making sure “each class member was notified,” Loughlin said.
While leaders of the fundraising effort initially aimed to raise $15 million — enough to name a wing of the building — the funds raised ultimately surpassed the amount expected to construct the entire building, Loughlin said.
“I think we just didn’t know it was possible at the beginning,” Loughlin said.
According to Keniston, the College is currently starting the design process and will work with the Town of Hanover on the permitting process. Dartmouth will also solicit feedback from students and community members. Keniston added that building projects “generally” take one year to design and “roughly” two years to build.
“Our hope is that we can be breaking ground within the next year, but our focus right now is getting through the design phase,” Keniston said.
Kelsey Wang is a reporter and editor for The Dartmouth from the greater Seattle area, majoring in history and government. Outside of The D, she likes to crochet, do jigsaw puzzles and paint.
