Communications

John David “Jody” Trout Jr.

September 9, 2026

John (“Jody”) David Trout Jr., an associate professor of mathematics, died on Sept. 9. For more than three decades, Trout was a fixture of the Dartmouth math department, a specialist in abstract mathematics who kept his door open to anyone who wanted to talk.

Trout grew up in South Carolina and studied mathematics at the College of Charleston. He earned a master’s degree at Clemson University in 1988 and a doctorate at the Pennsylvania State University in 1995. He came to Dartmouth that same year as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2001. His research was in functional analysis and operator algebras, and specifically in noncommutative geometry, which studies spaces where the ordinary rule that "a times b equals b times a" no longer holds. Non-commuting arithmetic underlies quantum mechanics, and Trout was drawn to that seam between deep abstraction and the physics of the very small. His work focused on pure mathematics, while the questions that drove him came from physics.

Trout published nearly a dozen papers in major research journals. In 2000, with Higson and his frequent collaborator Erik Guentner, he wrote a monograph on equivariant E-theory that appeared in the Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society and is still widely cited. Two years earlier, with Higson and the operator theorist Gennadi Kasparov, he had proved a Bott periodicity theorem for infinite-dimensional Euclidean space, published in Advances in Mathematics. Grants from the National Science Foundation supported his work on index theory, elliptic operators, and E-theory across more than a decade. That work took him abroad: in 1999, at the invitation of the Peruvian Congress’s commission on science and technology, Trout lectured in Lima on the index theory of elliptic operators, and one of the talks was broadcast on Peru’s congressional news channel.

Trout’s longtime colleagues say he was a dedicated teacher who was popular with students. Trout developed Math 66, Mathematical Topics in Modern Physics, and taught it many times. He co-developed an interdisciplinary course, Mathematics and Science Fiction, and in recent years regularly taught Metric Spaces and Measure Theory, which included both undergraduate and graduate students. He advised undergraduate honors theses, sat on many dissertation committees over the years, and guided two doctoral students to their degrees.

Trout loved pop culture as much as he loved the universe’s big ideas. He hosted watch parties for season finales where graduate students stayed for hours afterward, playing games on the full-size arcade machine in his basement. Trout also had a gift for talking about mathematics with people who were not mathematicians. He gave public lectures he called the Fourth Dimension, inspired by Flatland, a Victorian novella about a two-dimensional world reckoning with the existence of dimensions beyond its own. He used that premise to walk audiences toward the harder question of what a fourth spatial dimension might look like. He gave these talks to the Dartmouth Mathematical Society, which he was closely involved with for many years, and at venues in the Upper Valley. He also reviewed science fiction novels for the Notices of the American Mathematical Society and wrote an essay on the mathematics of Op Art for a Hood Museum of Art catalog.

Trout is survived by his children, Natalie and Kyprian, and his wife, Deanne. The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Trout’s honor on Monday, Sept. 21, and Tuesday, Sept. 22. Read the School of Arts and Sciences’ reflection of his life and work.

David Lagomarsino

September 7, 2026

David Lagomarsino, the Charles Hansen Professor Emeritus, died on Sept. 7. He was 80. A scholar of early modern Spain, Lagomarsino taught at Dartmouth for 45 years and won the graduating class’s award for distinguished teaching three times, matched by only one other professor in the College’s history.

Lagomarsino was born in Washington, D.C., on July 18, 1946, and spent his early years in the Acassuso neighborhood of Buenos Aires. His Argentine roots ran deep, in his love of the Spanish language, tango, and empanadas. After earning his PhD in 1974, Lagomarsino saw an advertisement for a job teaching Spanish history at Dartmouth. He moved to Hanover planning to stay four or five years and stayed for the rest of his career.

By his own account, he was not ready for the classroom. He learned on the job and earned tenure in 1980. Lagomarsino won the Jerome Goldstein Award for Distinguished Teaching, then chosen each year by vote of the graduating class, in 1984, 2005, and 2013. He received a teaching award in 1980, now called the John M. Manley Award, and in 2005 two Dartmouth Student Assembly awards, for advising and for teaching. On his retirement in 2017, Dartmouth gave him the Robert A. Fish 1918 Memorial Prize, which honors a newly retired professor’s career in undergraduate teaching.

Lagomarsino’s scholarship focused on Philip II and the Revolt of the Netherlands, and he edited the king’s papers on the revolt for Belgium’s Commission Royale d’Histoire. He worked in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Flemish alongside Spanish, and his research later turned to geographical information systems and the digital mapping of courtly travel. He had been an early adopter of the technology, co-developing a graphics-management program called ATLAS for the Apple Macintosh in 1986.

Lagomarsino gave Dartmouth as much in service as in scholarship. He chaired the history department, served as an associate dean and as a special counselor to the provost, co-mastered the Choate residences, and built a relational database that still tracks the academic accomplishments of the department’s faculty and students. He was also an effective fundraiser for the department’s academic enrichment funds.

Away from campus, Lagomarsino was an inventor and an artist, a cook known for his tapas, a magician, a builder, a gardener, and a tireless traveler. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; his sons, Jeremy and Peter, and their wives, Amy and Giuliana; and five grandchildren, Julia, David, Jonah, Chloe, and Leonardo. 

A private memorial service and burial will be held at a later date. The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Lagomarsino’s honor on Thursday, Sept. 17, and Friday, Sept. 18. Read the full remembrance of his life.

Barbara Louise Jarvis Payson

August 17, 2026

Emeritus Assistant Professor of Medicine Barbara Louise Jarvis Payson, M.D., passed away peacefully on Aug. 17, 2026.

A brilliant, confident, generous woman defined by her steady faith and service to others, she earned her B.S. at The Ohio State University and her M.D. in 1957 at John Hopkins Medical School, where she was one of a small group of women. At Hopkins, Barbara met medical resident Henry Payson. They were married in 1958 as she began her residency in General Medicine at Yale Medical School. They had their first child Ann in 1960, John in 1961, Sally in 1962, and Susie in 1965.

When Henry was recruited to the psychiatry department at Dartmouth Medical School in 1963, the Paysons moved to Hanover. Barbara managed her family while working in Internal Medicine at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. She participated in several different research studies at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, notably the decade-plus Paris Project. Barbara was proud of her work on this influential study of US/UK heart attacks and coronary disease. In 1985, Barbara started practicing at Dick’s House, Dartmouth’s health service center. Though she retired officially in 1998, Barbara continued to substitute at Dick’s House as needed for another decade.

Barbara leaves behind many friends and family, who would like to thank all the wonderful people who helped her in her later years. Memorial services will be set at a later date. The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Barbara’s memory on Monday, August 31st and Tuesday, September 1st. View her full obituary.

Lisa Celone

August 18, 2026

Lisa Celone, a beloved 33-year employee of Dartmouth, passed away on Tuesday, August 18.

Lisa served as Chief Operating Officer of Campus Planning & Facilities and later as Director of Communications, Campus Services. She was recognized not only for her skills and talents but for her warmth, character, and kindness, and she brought enthusiasm and energy into everything she did.

Lisa's son, Lane, followed in his mother's footsteps to Dartmouth and is a colleague on the Project Management team. We keep Lane and his sister, Camille, in our thoughts, and we join together in wishing them strength and peace.

Lisa will be greatly missed by her many colleagues and friends across the Dartmouth community. The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Lisa's memory on Wednesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 27.

Robert A. Danziger

July 16, 2026

Trustee Emeritus Robert A. Danziger ’56—a distinguished real estate entrepreneur, community leader, and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather—passed away on July 16, 2026, at the age of 92. He lived a life marked by steadfast integrity, professional achievement, community leadership, and a deep commitment to family, education, and philanthropy.

Bob graduated from Dartmouth in 1956 and received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business. He founded Northland Investment Corporation in 1970 and led the company for 25 years as President and CEO. Throughout his career he was a lecturer in real estate and entrepreneurship at the Tuck School and Columbia Business School. In addition, he taught a course in real estate in the Master's degree program at the MIT Center for Real Estate.

An active and loyal supporter of Dartmouth, Bob was elected to the Dartmouth Board of Trustees where he served with distinction for 10 years. Bob felt that his greatest accomplishment was the family he built in partnership with his beloved wife, Sara (Levy). Their 70-year marriage was an inspiring example of enduring love and companionship. Their family was grounded and shaped by their shared values and unwavering support. He was a wonderful husband, an engaged and caring father, and a warm and loving grandfather.

Bob will always be remembered for his unusual ability to connect with people from all walks of life with genuine interest and warmth. The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Bob’s memory on Tuesday, July 21 and Wednesday, July 22. Funeral services will be held on July 20, at 10:30 a.m., at Temple Shalom of Newton, 175 Temple St., Newton, MA. The family will observe shiva at Temple Shalom of Newton on Monday, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. ​View his full obituary.

Harvin “Vinny” Sandhu

June 25, 2026

Harvin “Vinny” Sandhu ’27 passed away on June 25 in his home state of Kansas, following a long-term illness.

Vinny arrived on campus in Fall 2023 with strong experience as a state-level high school debater. A member of Allen House, he explored the liberal arts, taking courses in politics, math, and Arabic, and he loved spending time at the library. After completing his first term, he stepped away from campus life to focus on managing his health.

Vinny was passionate about his education and connection with Dartmouth. As he navigated many unknowns, mementos of Dartmouth brought him some comfort and lifted his spirits. His family shared that he remained determined and optimistic at heart, focusing on love and family.

Though his time on campus was brief, Vinny was a valued member of our community whom we lost much too soon. The Dartmouth flag will be lowered in Vinny’s memory on Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11.

James C. Strickler

June 27, 2026

James C. Strickler ’50 DMS ’51, dean emeritus and active professor emeritus of Medicine and of Community and Family Medicine, passed away peacefully on June 27. He was 99.

​Dr. Strickler served as dean of Dartmouth Medical School from 1973-1981, but his full connection to the Geisel School spanned more than seven decades. A graduate of Dartmouth and the medical school, he returned to Hanover in 1967 to help guide the school's transition to a full four-year MD-granting curriculum and went on to lead it as dean for eight years. He is remembered for steadying the school during a financially precarious period, including establishing the Brown-Dartmouth Program, through which students attended medical school at Dartmouth for the pre-clinical years and transferred to Brown to complete their training.

​What distinguished Dr. Strickler was how he chose to spend the years that followed his deanship. Rather than step back, he devoted himself to humanitarian medicine, caring for refugees and conflict-affected communities across Asia, Africa, the Balkans, and beyond through the International Rescue Committee. He later led Dartmouth's longstanding work in Kosovo and co-founded Action for Mothers and Children, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of mothers and children in Kosovo, which carries on its work today. Those who knew him recall a physician and leader of rare humility, quick to share credit, and quietly steadfast in his commitment to others.

​A memorial service will be held at a later date. The Dartmouth flags will be lowered in his honor on July 2 and 3.

Duncan Shalda

June 8, 2026

Duncan William Shalda passed away unexpectedly on June 8, surrounded by his family. 

Professionally, Duncan dedicated his career to the transformative power of education. He spent nearly five years in higher education, serving as an Admissions Counselor at Southern New Hampshire University, then as Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at New England College, and most recently as Assistant Director of Individual and Class Giving at Dartmouth, where he had worked for the past two years. 

At Dartmouth, Duncan helped connect students and alumni to the institutions that had shaped them, cultivating a spirit of generosity and fostering a sense of community between students past and present. His warm personality and generous spirit endeared him to all those he met.

Duncan was devoted to the love of his life, Anna, and he found his truest calling and deepest fulfillment in his role as a father. With Anna, Duncan’s days were spent bringing Simon along on whatever adventure happened to appear. Many peaceful hours were spent playing on the shores of Lake Kearsarge, hitting golf balls in the back yard, walking down the street to the local bakery, or visiting cousins on the other side of town. Duncan’s fatherhood exhibited the same love, humor, gentleness, and strength that characterized all the other areas of his life. 

He is survived by his beloved wife Anna V. (Philbrick) Shalda, son Simon Shalda, a second child due to be born on January 1, 2027, parents Ron and Leslie Shalda, and sisters Meredith (Andy) Errington and Natalie Shalda. 

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 20 at Raymond Baptist Church in Raymond, NH, followed by a luncheon reception at Abbot Falls, 189 Depot Road, Candia, New Hampshire, 03034.