| Dear Friends- We hope this email finds you well and that spring has sprung for you at last. Here are some updates and opportunities for involvement with BADA. Spring Happenings: Regional reps and committee chairs, who do the heavy lifting of helping our members connect in person, have been planning some great events: · BADA Boston gathered in January for a New Year’s celebration and meeting to start 2016 off right. On March 16 BADA Boston hosted a Financial Wellness Workshop with Michelle Braithwaite of Primerica, which was also made available to other BADA members to view via webinar. · In March, Our BADA San Francisco rep, Jackie Francis attended a one-day workshop presented by the College about collaborating and leadership. Former BADA president Gary Love was also in attendance. · BADA Philly hosted a spring party at Relish restaurant on April 16, and a good time was had by all. · Also on April 16, the BADA history committee met in DC to vision plan around the black history project and how we can make our history prominent at the College’s upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. · Benjamin Moynihan, Vicki Marks, and Tiffany Showell Jaksic all reached out to admitted students in their regions to congratulate them and answer any questions they or their parents had about Dartmouth. · On May 7, 2016, BADA Texas members met up to participate in their local Dartmouth day of service event in Houston with the local area club.  DC Mini Reunion: We are trying something new this fall- a mini reunion for BADA off campus. On the weekend of October 22, 2016 we will be convening in Washington, D.C. from Friday to Sunday morning for networking and socialization, as well as a trip to the National African American Museum of History and Culture. A fuller itinerary is forthcoming but there will be events from Friday evening to Sunday morning, and a block of hotels has been reserved at One Washington Circle Hotel, which you can access here to make a reservation: http://www.thecirclehotel.com. We think this will be a fun way for BADA members to get together in a more accessible location. Don’t worry though, we will still plan to have our traditional BADA reunion in 2017- the date will be announced soon but be prepared to re-live your sophomore summer! Mentoring: There has been a positive response from BADA members to the request for mentors. During Winter term 16 students (’16s and ’17s) were matched with alumni. We have been receiving positive feedback from the alumni mentors, who are enjoying their student engagements. We are planning to do another Mentor Match during Fall Term. For BADA members who are interested in being matched there are several opportunities to share your wealth of knowledge with an Undergraduate. Currently the students can access mentorship through Pathways for Medicine – a program initiated by Mary Tate ’12, to support students navigate moving from pre-med to medical school; and this year BADA started Mentor Match, which matches students and alumni with common academic interests. The Mentor Match is intended to be a long-term match, potentially beyond graduation. Several BADA members have expressed interest in providing Career Mentorship in the areas of Finance and STEM. The Career Mentorship is intended to give a more comprehensive industry perspective for students who have identified careers for the future. This is an opportunity to connect or provide internships, guidance on internships, potential jobs, or to introduce students to other individuals or leaders in the identified industry. As we get more alums interested in Career Mentorship, the industries can be expanded to include entertainment, law, education etc. If you are interested in becoming a mentor to a Black Undergraduate, especially in the STEM and Finance areas, please contact us by replying to this email for more information. Also, many thanks to our mentoring superstars who did not even need the program to get started helping students- Gary Love, Vicki Marks, Tyrone Byrd and Richard Jones to name a few, and we are sure there are many more that we don’t even know about. Thank you for helping students! Faculty Diversity: Based on feedback from our membership bodies and affiliated student groups, the ASIGs began meeting independently last summer to specifically focus on the area of faculty diversity. This group, which consisted of leaders of BADA, DALA, DGALA, DAPAAA and Big NAD penned a letter to the Vice Provost and other high level administrators expressing our concern with the dearth of diverse faculty members and no apparent plan to rectify the situation. We expressed our desire to partner with the college to assist with the recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse faculty. In December we were provided with preliminary analysis from the College of the work done to date and the areas of improvement, which we discussed with Vice Provost Anthony in person at a meeting in January. Given the considerable amount of time spent on the issue, we were very disappointed by the lack of alumni presence on the working groups formed by the College in early 2016 to analyze accountability metrics. We expressed this frustration with the administration and then did our own analysis and penned a 6-page letter with our own suggestions for action items and analysis of other schools and best practices from other industries. This letter, which you can read by clicking here, went to the Vice Provost and a much wider audience two weeks ago. Soon thereafter, the working group reports were released and we immediately had a call to discuss our reactions and next steps. We are planning to provide our own input and suggest how we can help implement some of the suggestions, and also recommending that issues of race, gender and class be discussed more openly in the College’s communication on this subject. Given our work on this topic during this very week (including a call convened at 10 pm eastern after the working group reports were released), we were all dismayed to learn of the denial of tenure for Prof. Aimee Bahng. While we do not know all the details, it is our understanding that this was a well liked, engaging Professor doing important work and who had the full support of her department. Similar denials have recently occurred for other faculty of color. This is an unacceptable trend. The ASIG leaders reconvened for another conversation and will be weaving this issue into our next response to the College. In the meantime, I will be penning letter as the president of BADA expressing my disappointment and frustration with this development. I, and the rest of the ASIG leaders, remain committed to this issue and holding the College accountable. We will not cease in our demands that Dartmouth show vast improvement, and that our members and our future members have a seat at the table as this issue is addressed. Black Baccalaureate: The Class of 2016 Lorna C. Hill Black Graduation Ceremony will take place on June 10 in the Moore Theatre, 4-5:30pm. We hope as many alumni as possible came come to help hood the students with their stoles and celebrate their accomplishments. Last year BADA solicited members to support the graduating class by contributing funds for the stoles given to graduating students. Once again, we are reaching out to ask if members are interested in contributing funds to purchase stoles. The cost is expected to be $26.00 per stole. To make this more personal, this year you can identify the student for whom you are contributing funds. This donation can be acknowledged or anonymous. To be clear, OPAL and the Alumni Relations Office are funding the Black Baccalaureate Ceremony and will assist with the cost of stoles. This is our way of including BADA members in the celebration. We are excited that another group of Dartmouth students will be graduating and joining the ranks of BADA. Congratulations to the class of 2016! You can donate the cost of a stole on the BADA website’s paypal link. Loving Remembrance:  Lastly, we join in our many members in lifting up the spirit of Craig Triplett '76, who passed away in April. Craig was a former BADA president. He was also Managing Partner with The LeROI Group, and amassed over thirty years of successful industry experience in consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, higher education, and professional services. Craig served as a Strategic Account Manager in the Atlanta Office of Korn Ferry International Futurestep. He founded the first Human Resources department at Morehouse College and worked for HBO, U.S. Telecom, General DataComm, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and Drake Beam Morin. Many BADA members shared fond memories of Craig on the BADA Talks Facebook page, with one member remembering him as “an awesome man with the biggest heart and the greatest passion to live a full and meaningful life.” Our hearts and prayers are with Craig’s family and friends as they mourn. Craig had his AB Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School. After a catastrophic bicycle accident in October 2008 while visiting his dad in Los Angeles, that left him quadriplegic, Craig was a source of strength and positivity to many as he chronicled his steps to regain his strength. Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm for BADA. We have had many new people step forward with new ideas who are wonderfully willing to help. I would also like to take a moment to thank the executive committee, especially Vice President Al Forbes, who have helped me continue in this leadership role over a series of large personal changes in the last few months. The BADA family continues to inspire me and it is an honor to work for you. In friendship, Leah Threatte Bojnowski ‘01 BADA President | 
