Couple Gives $21M to Dartmouth

Hanover — Dartmouth College has received a $21 million gift from an alumnus and his wife, adding to the couple’s endowment for international scholars engaged in entrepreneurship and public service in their homelands.



Robert E. King, a Silicon Valley financier and a member of the class of 1957, and his wife, Dorothy J. King, have more than doubled the size of the King Scholar Leadership Program, which funds the humanitarian work and educations of students from developing countries. The program now has more than $35 million at its disposal, according to a college news release.



Six King scholars have matriculated at the college since 2013, hailing from such countries as Burkina Faso, Jamaica, Kenya, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, where they hope to launch development projects to combat poverty. The program will have accepted 24 scholars in the next four years, according to the release, and over the next decade will bring that number to 50.



Faith Rotich, one of two first-year King scholars from Kenya, said the program was a large part of the reason she decided to attend Dartmouth.



After receiving her acceptance letter, Rotich was unsure whether she wanted to go to school “in the middle of nowhere” and so far from home, despite the college’s academic reputation. But when the admissions office invited her to apply for the program, she was sold.



In her Kenyan hometown, Mount Elgon, a farming community where few residents continue their studies past secondary school, Rotich hopes to found a school and rescue center for women. Girls there often go no further than primary school, Rotich said, and contend with early marriage and genital mutilation — both practices that her project would address.



Before this latest gift, the King Scholarship paid in full for Rotich’s education, as well as for once-a-year visits to Kenya and a junior-year development project, she said. With the gift, Rotich may receive funds for a summer internship and attend a conference for professionals in fields related to her interests.



“If it wasn’t for the King Scholarship, I wouldn’t be having an opportunity to experience any of this,” she said.



According to the release, King scholars will spend time during their junior and senior years interning for organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Justice Project and the World Bank.



The Kings are prolific donors, having given more than $150 million to Stanford University to found the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies, as well as many smaller donations to other institutions.



Though he and his wife declined to be interviewed on Wednesday, Robert King told the Dartmouth public affairs office this week, “What makes this program unique and successful is twofold: It brings exceptional students who have themselves lived in poverty and encourages them to use their perspective to make real change happen. Dottie and I want to change lives country by country, and we believe these scholars are the best investment we can make in the future.”



Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.





