Every student who passed through Dartmouth Medical School between 1923 and 1960 remembers Rolf Syvertsen as a professor of anatomy, an administrator and dean, and, especially, a mentor. "Sy's boys" recall his gruff kindness, his sometimes unconventional methods, his loyal support, and his dry wit. A firm and demanding teacher, Syvertsen also nurtured his students' values as physicians, profoundly influencing the doctors they became.
Through his own example, "Dr. Sy" fostered academic accomplishment and scientific rigor, a passion for learning, and a love of medicine, while also cultivating in students a breadth and depth of human concern and a sense of community spirit and citizenship.
It is these values that the Syvertsen Scholars and Fellows program seeks to recognize and perpetuate at Geisel. Granted annually since 1985, the Syvertsen awards honor outstanding fourth-year students who are considered first among their peers in exemplifying the qualities Syvertsen stood for and that have become deeply embedded in the culture of the medical school. Scholars are nominated by a faculty committee, and a Fellow is selected from among this group by the Syvertsen Memorial Committee, composed of alumni. Awards to the Syvertsen Scholars and Fellows are funded by contributions to the Rolf C. Syvertsen Memorial Fund.
For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 603-653-0726 or via email at Geisel.Alumni.Relations@Dartmouth.edu or visit their webpage.
Syvertsen Scholars and Fellows
Arvind Suresh
Fellow
Aya Bashi
Scholar
Kennedy Jensen
Scholar
Colin McLeish
Scholar
Linda Morris
Scholar
Isabelle Tersio
Scholar
Six members of the Class of 2023 at the Geisel School of Medicine were selected as the Rolf C. Syvertsen Scholars for the 202-2023 academic year, with one of the students, Arvind Suresh also honored as the Syvertsen Fellow..