Communications

William Scott


William C. Scott, professor emeritus of classics, died on Oct.13.

Scott was a distinguished scholar of ancient Greek literature and was widely recognized for his work on the Homeric poems.

“In his 38 years at Dartmouth, Bill Scott’s brilliance as a scholar was matched only by his generosity as a teacher and leader,” Arts and Sciences Interim Dean of Faculty John Carey said in a community message. “His research reshaped our understanding of Greek drama, and his visionary leadership helped transform Baker-Berry Library for the digital age. Even in retirement, he remained deeply committed to teaching, attracting eager learners to his Osher Lifelong Learning classes with the same passion and care that defined his career.”

Scott grew up in Winnetka, Illinois, and earned his BA in classics from Princeton University in 1959 as Phi Beta Kappa. After teaching at three private high schools, Scott returned to Princeton, earning his MA in 1962 and PhD in 1964, with a dissertation on “The Oral Nature of the Homeric Simile.” He also studied at the University of Munich in 1962-63 on a grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst.

Scott met his wife, Mary Lyons (Baldwin), in graduate school at Princeton. They married in 1964, and that summer traveled throughout Europe for his museum research, marking the beginning of a lifetime of exploration together.

That fall Scott joined Haverford College as an assistant professor, and in 1966 he joined Dartmouth’s classics department, where he would spend his career. Over the following decades, he progressed through faculty and administrative leadership roles, serving as associate dean of the faculty, chairman of the Department of Classics, and chairman of the Humanities Division. He became Professor of Classics and Drama in 1975, was appointed Humanities Distinguished Research Professor in 1988, and was named Dartmouth Professor of Classics in 1994.

Among his many contributions to Dartmouth, Scott took particular pride in chairing the Task Force on the Library of the 21st Century in 1993, leading the renovation and expansion of Baker-Berry Library to ensure it would remain vital to students and faculty in an increasingly digital world. He also served as co-chair of the University Seminar on Information Technology and as member and chairman of the Council on Honorary Degrees.

Throughout his career, Scott demonstrated a deep commitment to his students and colleagues, supporting productions of Greek drama and special faculty seminars on world cultures. He also served as a guide on alumni tours to Greece, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, and the Black Sea.

A prolific scholar, Scott was the author of six books on classical studies, including Musical Design in Aeschylean Theater (1984), which was awarded the Goodwin Award of Merit by the American Philological Association as the year’s best book in the field. His 1996 book, Musical Design in Sophoclean Theater, extended his pioneering analysis of how metrical patterns functioned as a central feature of musical organization in Greek drama, arguing that significant portions of the plays cannot be fully realized on stage unless the musical effects created by the poet are incorporated.

His other major works include The Oral Nature of the Homeric Simile (1974), Prometheus Bound (1980), and Plato’s The Republic (1985). Ahead of his time in embracing open-access publishing, Scott made The Artistry of the Homeric Simile (2009) freely available online. He later reflected: “I have written several books on Greek literature, and yet have found the widest readership through a book on oral literature, The Artistry of the Homeric Simile, that I published open access with the Dartmouth College Library.”

In addition to his books, Scott published dozens of scholarly articles on Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Catullus in leading journals. He often commented that his most insightful contribution to the field of classics was his introduction of the concept of the “simileme”—the idea that Homer’s repetition of certain descriptors for characters in the Iliad and the Odyssey had deeper meaning than had previously been realized by other scholars.

In 1997, Scott delivered Dartmouth’s 10th Annual Presidential Lecture, titled “The Gospel According to Odysseus.”

Scott served on several national scholarly committees, including as a member of the Managing Committee of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and the Archbishop’s Commission on Greek Language and Culture for the Greek Orthodox Church.

Dartmouth peers remember Scott as a warm, generous colleague who regularly taught beyond his course load to support the ancient Greek curriculum. He thoughtfully reviewed junior colleagues’ manuscripts, even outside his expertise, doing background research to offer substantive feedback. Each morning, he spent half an hour in the Classics library, in what he called “the coffee klatch,” connecting with members of the Classics department to discuss teaching methods or catch up on their research.

After his retirement in 2004, Scott continued to teach through Dartmouth’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. His classes on Homer and Greek tragedies always filled quickly and received top reviews.

Scott’s curiosity and enthusiasm extended far beyond the classroom. In addition to Latin and Greek, he learned Spanish, German, Italian, and French. He embraced the natural beauty of the Upper Valley, spending time hiking, skiing, and skating. He regularly played squash and tennis with colleagues, and found joy in cooking, painting, and playing the piano.

Scott  is survived by his wife Mary Lyons; his son Charles Scott (Virginia Scott); his daughters Ellen Delaney (Joseph Stanovich) and Alice Paik (David Paik); and six grandchildren: Caitlin Delaney; Lily, Eddie, and Sophie Scott; and Henry and Lyons Paik.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Scott’s memory to the William C. Scott Humanities Distinguished Research Professor and Family Fund.

A memorial service will take place on Friday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover, with a reception to follow in the Hayward Room of the Hanover Inn.

The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Scott’s honor on Nov. 20 and 21. 

Susan Blader

Friday, October 10, 2025 

Susan Blader, associate professor emerita of Asian and Middle Eastern languages and literatures, passed away on Oct. 10.

“Over nearly four decades at Dartmouth, Susan Blader was a passionate steward of Chinese culture, a rigorous scholar, and a dedicated mentor to her students and colleagues,” Arts and Sciences Dean of Faculty John Carey said in a community message. “Her legacy will be remembered not only through her scholarly contributions, but also through the warmth and generosity she brought to every facet of her work.”

A distinguished scholar of Chinese language and cultural history, Blader was among the first American researchers to study Chinese popular literature and played a pioneering role in preserving China’s storytelling traditions—now a field of intense global study within the framework of intangible cultural heritage.

Blader earned her PhD in Chinese language and literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, following BA and MA degrees in Russian language and literature. She joined Dartmouth’s Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures in 1978, and quickly became a beloved teacher, mentor, and colleague. (The department later became the Department of Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages.) 

Blader taught a wide range of courses in Chinese language, literature, and culture, including Storytelling in China, Literature and Revolution in 20th-Century China, and Introduction to Chinese Culture. Her dedication to students extended beyond the classroom—she advised numerous honors theses, supervised independent studies, and mentored students through research assistantships and programming at the Chinese Language House.

Blader’s legendary “Noodle Hour,” a weekly gathering she hosted at the Chinese Language House, brought students together for cultural programming and home-cooked meals, often including her signature sesame noodles. These events featured guest speakers ranging from archaeologists and musicians to alumni and visiting scholars, fostering a vibrant community of learning and exchange.

Blader’s former student Andrew David Field ’91, associate professor of Chinese history at Duke Kunshan University, wrote in his blog about a special gathering Blader hosted at the Chinese Language House during his 25th reunion at Dartmouth. “We have kept up over the past 25 years,” he wrote. “I credit her above all others for sparking my lifelong interest in Chinese language, culture, and history.”

Blader’s scholarly contributions were both prolific and pioneering. In 1997, she translated Tales of Magistrate Bao and His Valiant Lieutenants, introducing English readers to a semi-historical narrative of adventure and crime centered on the famed Song dynasty magistrate Bao Zheng.

“This work remains a pioneering translation and study of traditional Chinese storytelling and performance,” says Juwen Zhang, a professor of Chinese at Willamette University, who studied with Blader as a graduate student at Dartmouth and returned in 2012 as a visiting professor. “Moreover, she was one of the very few scholars to conduct fieldwork on oral and performing arts in China during the 1970s and 1980s, effectively raising awareness of this field among scholars of different backgrounds.”

In 2002, Blader was invited by Yo-Yo Ma and Ted Levin to serve as curator for the Chinese Storytelling Pavilion at the Smithsonian’s 36th Annual Summer Folklife Festival. She invited and interpreted for six master storytellers from China, presenting two hours of performances over 10 days. This work resulted in more than 100 hours of digitized oral narrative performances, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Tragic-Comic Destiny, which she co-produced and edited. 

In 2006, Blader received an anonymous $50,000 gift to support her work to preserve China’s storytelling arts. Among her many projects, she collaborated with Dartmouth’s DALI Lab to create The Art of the Chinese Storyteller, which documents her work collecting and teaching storytelling traditions. Over the years, Blader brought numerous Chinese storytellers to Dartmouth, organizing “Chinese Storytelling Teahouse” events that enriched campus cultural life.

In 2016, Blader collaborated with Beijing ethnomusicologists Bao Chengjie and Cai Yuanli on a 30-hour documentary of China’s oral narrative arts. The project compiled lecture-demonstrations and performances by distinguished artists that she had videotaped and collected from 1982 to 2000. She gifted a copy to the Center for the Promotion of National Folk Arts in Beijing.

Blader’s publications include numerous essays and reviews in the journal Chinese Oral and Performing Literature, where she served on the editorial board for decades. She also co-edited a Festschrift, Chinese Ideas About Nature and Society: Studies in Honour of Derk Bodde, which explores the proper ordering of the universe in Chinese tradition.

In recent years, Blader served as one of three co-editors on a trilogy celebrating the legacy of her colleague, Dartmouth professor emerita Sarah Allan. These volumes—Myth and the Making of History (2024), Metaphor and Meaning (2024), and Bone, Bronze, and Bamboo (2024)—bring together leading scholars to examine newly unearthed artifacts, conceptual metaphor theory in early Chinese philosophy, and the interplay between myth and history in ancient China.

An engaged campus leader, Blader served as chair of her department and led multiple faculty searches. She also organized several colloquia, including one on the globalization of traditional Chinese medicine, and worked tirelessly to support off-campus programs and curriculum development.

Most recently, Blader focused on completing an audio and video archive of her numerous interviews with Chinese storytellers—a project that will soon be housed in the Dartmouth Libraries.

Senior Lecturer Alan Li remembers Blader as a caring colleague and beloved friend. “Her years of absolute devotion to the teaching of Chinese language, culture, and literature at Dartmouth will always live in our fond memories and she will be woefully missed,” he said.

“Susan Blader’s generosity, sincerity, and compassion were truly unparalleled to all who knew her, whether as a student, colleague, friend, or someone she simply helped once,” said Zhang.

“But I must emphasize that Susan—whom I have respected so deeply for 30 years that I still find it difficult to stop addressing her as Bai Laoshi (白老师 Teacher Bai, her Chinese title and a sincere expression of my lifelong reverence)—was an utterly serious teacher and scholar. She did more than just correct my writing word by word, even punctuation by punctuation, as she would do to a student’s homework or a colleague’s manuscript; she also consistently challenged and guided me in producing quality publications. She will be remembered and missed by the numerous students, scholars, and performers whom she bridged between China and the U.S.”

Professor of Middle Eastern Studies Jonathan Smolin remembers Blader as “a beloved colleague and teacher whose warmth and generosity touched everyone who knew her. Her kindness, wisdom, and unwavering support made her not only an extraordinary educator, but also a cherished colleague and friend. The impact she had on her students and the Dartmouth community will continue to be felt for many years to come.”

Upon her retirement in 2016, Blader reflected: “My 38 years at Dartmouth College have brought me much joy, most importantly through the wonderful students I have taught and who still regularly return to visit. To be able to teach such students in an environment that comes close to paradise is rare good fortune. Dartmouth College has also, in a variety of ways over the decades, supported and encouraged my work with Chinese storytelling artists. For all these things, I am very grateful.”

Blader is survived by her husband, Ehud Benor, associate professor emeritus of religion. A memorial gathering will take place on campus in the spring, with remote access.

The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Blader’s honor on Oct. 22 and 23.

William “Bill” Crosby Platt

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

William “Bill” Crosby Platt, 64, a senior writer in Dartmouth’s Office of Communications, died at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, after a long illness.

He was born January 31, 1961, in North Hempstead, N.Y., to Harold and Elizabeth Platt. Bill grew up in Manhasset, N.Y., and in Tulsa, Ok. He was a graduate of UMass-Boston and received his master’s degree from the University of Montana. He was a writer to his core, rarely traveling anywhere without a notebook and pencil in his pocket.

He married Paula DelBonis-Platt in 1995 in Kalispell, Mt. Bill and Paula moved from shared bylines to a shared life in higher education and parenting their two beloved sons, the adventure and loves of a lifetime. Bill especially treasured these moments and memories with their sons, Nate and Will,  dinners, projects, automotive exploits, concerts and theater, movies, golf, celebrations, travel, and long talks. 

Bill worked at Dartmouth for the last 13 years of his life. He had held writing and editing positions from his student days onward, including an internship at the Boston Globe; as a reporter at the Vineyard Gazette; leading the Montana Standard’s bureau in Anaconda; overseeing and editing translations at Bowne in New York City; writing for the Dow Jones Newswires, including the famous Times Square “ticker”; working as a stringer in France for the Associated Press; and editing on the night desk at the Concord Monitor. He greatly valued his colleagues, connections, and friendships from each of these times in his life. When not writing professionally, he was busy penning screenplays and stories or reading about writing and writers. Rarely devoid of hope, he died with a fresh sheet of paper in his Remington Quiet-Riter Eleven typewriter and a fresh supply of pen and ink cartridges on his desk. He also reveled in music, from Tin Pan Alley to Tulsa Sound, and had passed his own instruments, the guitar and banjo, to his children to play.

Bill is survived by his wife, Paula; sons, Nathaniel Platt (partner Kirsten Hanchett) of Manchester, N.H., and William Platt of Contoocook and Fort Collins, Co.; brother, Donald Platt of Marietta, Ga.; sister, Allison Platt of Goldsboro, N.C.; and a close cousin, Dianne Platt of Tulsa, Ok. He was predeceased by his parents and an infant sister Pamela. A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Tuesday, October 14, at 10 a.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church in Concord, N.H. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund or the American Cancer Society.

 

P. Jack Hoopes, DVM, PhD

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Jack Hoopes, DVM, PhD, professor of surgery and radiation oncology at Geisel School of Medicine, and adjunct professor of engineering at Thayer School of Engineering, died on Sunday, August 10.

Known for a dedication to his work and to teaching and mentoring undergraduates, graduate students, and surgical residents during their research year, Hoopes spent 37 years at Dartmouth as a translational scientist where he focused on collaborative research projects developing biomedical and biomedical engineering innovations such as magnetic nanoparticle cancer treatment. A cancer researcher specializing in pathology and radiation oncology, he directed the Surgery and Radiation Research Laboratories for the past 29 years, and in 2009 became director of Dartmouth’s Center for Comparative Medicine and Research.

His work in the pathogenesis and moderation of radiation injury in the brain, contributes to a better understanding of the cascade of adverse events that follow radiation therapy and may also help to determine whether higher curative doses of radiation can be safely delivered to tumors that are surrounded by normal tissue.

With additional training in veterinary pathology, Hoopes’s interest in research began during a two-year residency program in zoo animal medicine and pathology at the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. His experience in the zoo’s intensive research program, one of a handful in existence, led Hoopes to earn a PhD in pathology and radiation biology.

When he arrived at Geisel (then Dartmouth Medical School) in 1988, his early research focused on a National Institutes of Health-funded project to determine the toxicity and efficacy of interstitial radiation and hyperthermia in the treatment of brain tumors. Friendly and respectful with a penchant for collaboration and a natural ability to facilitate research projects, Hoopes participated in a variety of endeavors, including mitigating radiation-induced heart damage by timing radiation to a specific part of the heart cycle, creating mathematical models for real-time prediction and assessment of brain movement during surgery, and studying the feasibility and efficacy of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of cancer and non-cancer diseases.

As an adjunct professor at Thayer, his research encompassed experimental cancer therapeutics including radiation, chemotherapy, hyperthermia, photodynamic therapy, nanotechnology (iron oxide nanoparticle hyperthermia cancer treatment), and the development of new treatments and surgical techniques for treating spontaneous tumors in animals.

Douglas Van Citters, PhD, interim dean and professor of engineering at Thayer, says "Jack epitomized the collaborative spirit of 'One Dartmouth.' He was intensely curious about everyone else’s research while opening his own laboratory to anyone who wanted to try something new or gather preliminary data. His enthusiasm for his job and our community is best encapsulated by his humble answer to my question a few years ago about how his summer was going: “Hey man, pretty good. The students and I are just working on curing cancer.'”

“Jack welcomed me to Dartmouth in 1996 and within two years we became the first (and perhaps last) people to have synchronized a radiation beam to a rat’s beating heart, demonstrating that the myocardium can be spared from radiation damage by delivering the radiation at end systole when the muscle is radio-hypoxic,” recalls longtime colleague David J. Gladstone, ScD, a research professor at Thayer and adjunct professor of medicine at Geisel.

“It then occurred to us we could use clinical resources to probe otherwise inaccessible processes via animal models. Collaborative studies were performed combining hypo-fractionated radiation therapy with iron nanoparticles to modulate physical and electrical energy deposition, inactivated viruses to stimulate the immune system, and most recently, ultra-high dose rate delivery to spare normal tissues through the ‘FLASH’ effect,” he says.

Much of this work was carried out on spontaneous tumor models in pets allowing for long-term follow up. This treatment would later serve as a model for treating human cancer. Gladstone says Hoopes’s spirit and enthusiasm for collaboration “helped make the impossible happen—animals with otherwise incurable disease survived for years.

“I will miss Jack and although we will all keep on keeping on, I suspect that for some time we will also ‘have a hitch in our get-along.’”

Hoopes also taught two engineering courses at Thayer: Introduction to Quantum Technologies that prepares students for future transformative technologies and was course director of Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, which introduced undergraduates to applications of engineering principles to medical diagnosis/treatment of disease, monitoring/measurement of physiological function, and rehabilitation/replacement of body dysfunction.

“Giving a lecture every spring for Jack’s introduction to biomedical engineering course at Thayer was an annual highlight,” says Charles R. Thomas, Jr. MD, chair and professor of radiation oncology and applied science and of medicine at Geisel and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Named director of the Surgery, Radiation Oncology, and Bioengineering Laboratories in 1996, Hoopes kept track of a multitude of projects funded by corporate contracts and NIH grants, including overseeing seven wet labs, labs for five bioengineers, three experimental operating rooms, a laser laboratory, and a device to deliver radiation therapy. The research component of the surgery residency program, which now includes an obligatory year of research experience, is also under the auspices of the laboratories.

Hoopes’s innate sense of service to others, reflected in his selfless giving, mentorship, and advocacy, endures through the lives of the people and animals he helped. He was a longtime participant in The Prouty Ultimate for most of his career at Dartmouth, cycling with his daughter Mollie for many years. A dedicated and faithful fan of the Dartmouth track and field program, he, and Mollie, travelled to the July 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR to support Dartmouth athletes.

While struggling through end stage disease, concern for his students remained steadfast as he continued teaching and managing his lab without wavering, Gladstone notes. “When we last visited, as he was rallying enough energy to be released from the hospital, he asked, ‘How are the students doing?’”

A memorial service for Hoopes will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 6, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover. A reception will follow.

William H. (Bill) Neukom

July 14, 2025 

William H. (Bill) Neukom '64 P'90 P'91 P'97 GP'28, a Trustee Emeritus and former chair of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, died peacefully at home in Seattle on July 14, 2025, surrounded by his family. 

With his life, Bill created a legacy of leadership and inclusivity in the legal profession, higher  education, philanthropy, Seattle, San Francisco and the world of baseball. He served as Microsoft’s  first General Counsel, steering the company’s legal affairs from its infancy in the 1970s until it  became the most valuable company in the world; President of the American Bar Association;  Chairman of Preston Gates & Ellis (now K&L Gates); Managing Partner and CEO of the San  Francisco Giants; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College; and in later years the  Founder and CEO of the World Justice Project. Bill also served as the loving and encouraging  patriarch for his children and grandchildren, guiding them by his example and counsel to become  “useful citizens.” 

Born on November 7, 1941, in Chicago, Bill was raised in the San Mateo Park neighborhood of San  Mateo, California. His father (John) was a partner of McKinsey & Company who opened and  managed the San Francisco office for decades, and his mother (Ruth or “Bunny”) was a community  leader on the Bay Area’s peninsula. Bill spoke with admiration of the home that his parents created.  Both graduates of the University of Chicago during the Robert Maynard Hutchins administration— Bill would explain—John and Bunny encouraged their children to explore the “life of the mind” and  to engage their communities as useful citizens. 

After serving as Chief Justice of the student court for San Mateo High School, and graduating in  1959, Bill spent 1959-60 as a “gap” year studying in Grenoble, France—which would provide him  with workable French delivered with a gorgeous accent for the ensuing 65 years of his life. Bill  earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1964, and his law degree from Stanford Law  School in 1967, both academic institutions he would hold dear and continue to serve during his life. 

After law school, Bill moved to Seattle to serve as a law clerk to Judge Theodore S. Turner of the  King County Superior Court. Bill recounted Judge Turner as scholarly, patient and with a work ethic  to be emulated. After clerking, Bill began private practice in Seattle with an emphasis on commercial  and civil rights litigation. In the 1970s, through the Seattle Bar Association, Bill was befriended by  Bill Gates Sr., who became Bill’s law firm colleague, mentor and role model for civic engagement. 

In the late 1970s, Gates Sr. approached Bill, then a junior partner of the firm, with a request. As Bill  later recounted: “He told me, ‘My son and his business partners are moving their business up here  from New Mexico. I thought you could keep an eye on them.’” The son was Bill Gates Jr., and the  business was Microsoft. Bill represented Microsoft as outside counsel starting in 1978, joined as  General Counsel in 1985, and retired as Executive Vice President in 2002. During Bill’s tenure as  Microsoft’s lead lawyer, the company successfully defeated an existential copyright claim in Apple v.  Microsoft, with Apple alleging that it owned the “look and feel” of the graphical user interface for  Windows. The company also successfully resolved the federal government’s antitrust lawsuit, U.S. v.  Microsoft, at the time the most-watched litigation in the world. Perhaps more so than any specific  legal affair at Microsoft, Bill was especially grateful to manage the company’s community affairs,  including corporate philanthropy, and to help gather and work alongside an exceptionally talented  collection of lawyers. 

After Microsoft, Bill returned to private practice and served as Chairman of Preston Gates & Ellis  (now K&L Gates) from 2003-07. Those closest to Bill recognized that this homecoming was  especially meaningful to him. Throughout his career, Bill was most “at home” within the camaraderie,  mutual respect and spirited intellectual debate of a law firm partnership.

Bill served as President of the American Bar Association in 2007-08, during which time he  established the ABA’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) and organized  an ABA members’ march in solidarity with embattled judges and lawyers in Pakistan. Previously, he  chaired the Young Lawyers Division, served as Secretary, and represented Washington State in the  House of Delegates. In 2020, he was awarded the ABA Medal for being “an international champion  for justice who has devoted his life and career to public service, access to justice and advancing the  rule of law.” 

Bill relished a lifetime connection to San Francisco baseball. As a child growing up in San Mateo  Park, he lived next door to Charlie Graham Jr., whose father owned the San Francisco Seals. Bill  played catch in the street with Graham’s daughter, and was grateful to be her occasional guest at Seals  games. When the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958, Bill’s father gifted him ten shares in Horace  Stoneham’s investment group for the ball club. Decades later, in 1993, Bill invested as a Limited  Partner in the Giants ownership group. He became a General Partner in 2003, and in 2008 became the  Managing General Partner and CEO. Bill was serving in that role during the 2010 season when the  Giants brought home San Francisco’s first World Series championship and the first for the ball club  since 1954. 

To further justice and the rule of law, Bill founded the World Justice Project in 2006, and served as  CEO until his passing. The WJP is a non-profit organization, with offices in Washington DC,  Singapore and Mexico City, working to stimulate action to advance the rule of law worldwide. 

In 1995, Bill founded the Neukom Family Foundation with his four children, dedicated to funding  education, the environment, health, human services and justice. Over the last 30 years, the Neukom  Family Foundation has funded organizations including Planned Parenthood, MSI (formerly Marie  Stopes International), the National Women’s Law Center, Plymouth Housing Group and the  Innocence Project. As Bill wished, the Neukom Family Foundation will continue to support these  priorities in years to come. 

Bill was committed to higher education throughout his life. He served as a Trustee of Dartmouth  College from 1996-2007 (Chair, 2004-07) and the University of Puget Sound from 1995-2006. He  served on the Dean’s Council at Stanford Law School (Chair, 2012-15) and as a lecturer on the rule of  law. Bill engaged higher education not only with his time, but also his resources—endowing  academic centers, chairs and professorships, and scholarships for underrepresented students at  Dartmouth College, Stanford Law School, the University of Puget Sound and the University of  Chicago. Bill received honorary degrees from Dartmouth College, Gonzaga University, the University  of Puget Sound, and the University of South Carolina. 

Bill’s family is proud of and grateful to him for the public legacy he created. But we are also  heartbroken at the loss our of “Pops,” and in awe of the richness of life that he shared with us. He ran  “sub-3-hour” marathons. In the 1970s, he ran for the Democratic Party nomination to be Attorney  General for Washington State, and for years thereafter showed a mirthful sense of humor about his  loss. He fly-fished around the world. He taught Sunday School at the First Congregational Church of  Hanover, New Hampshire, as a young man. He curated an amazing art collection—never focused on  brand names or pretense but instead on Pacific Northwest artists and supporting local gallery owners.  He was 6’4” tall, always fit, with a glorious head of hair, and preternaturally dapper. He loved bebop  jazz; made bow ties seem cool; and knew properly how to take a corner in a German sports car. He  was mischievously good at dominos. He had strong opinions about the superiority of English Springer  Spaniels. He was a skier and horseback rider. He could identify (a few) Burgundian wines by taste.  He was an average golfer but played quickly, with enthusiasm, and with impeccable on-course  etiquette. He had a roaring laugh that brought the room with him, and not infrequently joyful tears to  his own eyes.

For and with his family, Bill created inimitable experiences. He introduced his family to the San Juan  Islands, and created on oasis there overlooking Haro Straight that will survive him for family  generations to come. He traveled to see every child studying abroad—ascending (most of) Mount  Kilimanjaro with Josselyn, touring the Uffizi with Samantha, hiking the Galápagos Islands with  Gillian, and skiing the Mer de Glacé Chamonix with Jay. 

Bill was a loving husband, father and grandfather. The Neukom family will miss him, his humor,  his warmth and his encouragement. In his final days, surrounded by his wife and children, Bill wanted  to hear reports on every single grandchild. 

Bill is survived by his loving wife of 29 years, Sally; his former wife (Diane McMakin) and their  children Josselyn Neukom (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam), Samantha Neukom (Seattle), Gillian Neukom  Toledo (Seattle) and John (Jay) Neukom (San Francisco); their spouses Robert Toledo and Sandra  Neukom; his grandchildren Brown, Jock, Minna, Margaret, Lillian, Riley, Adelaide, Leo, Beatrice,  Flora, Maribel, Poppy, Willa and William (West); and his brothers Davidson and Daniel. He is pre deceased by his sister, Barbara Neukom Bohn. 

The Neukom family will hold a memorial service for Bill at the Plymouth Congregational Church in  Seattle on August 3 at 3 p.m. 

To honor Bill’s legacy, the Neukom family invites you to donate—whether your time, skills or  resources—to any cause which you believe will support the betterment of our shared society. To the  extent such a donation seeks to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, Bill would applaud that. 

Todd Campbell

June 20, 2025

Todd Campbell—beloved colleague and inspiration to the Hopkins Center for the Arts and the Dartmouth community—died at home on June 20, 2025, after a courageous battle with esophageal cancer. For over 14 years, Todd worked with the Hop production team to manage the technical execution of hundreds of performances across countless venues.

In 2021, he stepped into the leadership role of Senior Production Manager, diligently and passionately overseeing all technical operations at the Hop and managing a loyal, professional and fun-loving team. Todd’s organizational prowess, work ethic, and collaborative spirit were limitless. In addition to expertly bringing complex artistic productions to life, he developed the Hop’s internal database system, marshalled the overnight transition to virtual programming during the pandemic, and led the technical planning throughout the Hop’s current renovation and expansion. His Hop colleagues and collaborators across campus have enjoyed the benefit of his indefatigable dedication, expertise, generosity, and camaraderie.

Todd was born on September 18, 1971, in Grand Isle, Vermont to parents Willard G. “Kip” and Lucille (Barrett) Campbell. His family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when he was 10. He pursued technical theater in college and spent his summers in Cherokee working on Unto These Hills. He met his wife, Sara Ormsby, while they were both working at PlayMakers Repertory Company and Todd was studying for his MFA at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. They married in 2007. In 2010, they moved to the Upper Valley.

In his professional career, Todd was a mentor, educator, and friend to so many wonderful and talented colleagues at Unto These Hills, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Creative Visions, and most recently, the Hop. He loved being part of a creative team, making magic, and bringing stories to life.

Todd was a loving dad and shared his love of Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and superheroes with his children. He is survived by his wife, Sara, and their sons, Nate and Zac; his mother, Lucille; his brother, John; his sister, Beth Delahoussaye (Ken). He also leaves behind a sprawling community of chosen family—especially his team at the Hop—and countless theater friends from near and far.

Todd’s wisdom and work has already had a lasting impact on Dartmouth and the Hopkins Center. He made stuff happen,and his kindness, creative drive, and playful wit will be missed by all. Details for Todd’s “Closing Night Party” in early fall will be released at a later date.

The family would like to thank the care teams at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital for their outstanding care and kindness. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital to the President’s Fund. Gifts can be mailed to APD, 10 Alice Peck Day Drive, Lebanon, NH 03766 or online at alicepeckday.org.