Celebrating Dennis Hanno

Winter 2022

Since his arrival in 2014 at Wheaton College, President Dennis M. Hanno has been an innovative leader who has made significant contributions, and inspired as well as created change that will benefit the institution and students for generations to come. The collaborative strategic planning process that he launched and led at the start of his tenure established the current mission of the college to prepare students to create innovative solutions to big challenges and to act on them. At no other time in history has the need for this been greater than it is today as the world faces intersecting life-altering challenges.

In honor of his nearly eight years at Wheaton, here are eight of his many accomplishments:

Championed experiential learning as a priority that is funded and accessible to all through The Wheaton Edge.

Oversaw significant improvements in students’ residential, dining and academic experiences, including but not limited to renovations to Chase, Emerson and the new academic Discovery Center as well as the creation of Pine Hall.

Expanded the institution’s national and international reach, with new partnerships locally, regionally and in India.

Shared his life experiences as a leader in social innovation by teaching, establishing and leading social entrepreneurship initiatives on campus and abroad while engaging students, staff and faculty as partners.

Encouraged the college’s supporters to show exceptional generosity, even during the COVID-19 pandemic—one of the most challenging periods in the college’s history.

Established the institutional leadership and structure necessary to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

Led Wheaton to unprecedented growth in student enrollment.

Infused the college and local community with an authentic sense of fun and genuine interest in connectedness and relationship-building.

Make a donation in honor of President Hanno’s legacy

Championed experiential learning

Hanno wins Burke Presidential Award

President Hanno has been awarded the 2021 William M. Burke Presidential Award for Excellence in Experiential Education—by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars and The National Society for Experiential Education—for his leadership in promoting experiential education at Wheaton College.

The Wheaton Edge

The Wheaton Edge is a dynamic college experience that prepares students for success after graduation. It combines guaranteed access to internship funding with a highly personalized education in the liberal arts and sciences, innovative and interdisciplinary curriculum, and abundant opportunities to engage in and shape the campus community.

Building on green initiatives

Wheaton has incorporated sustainability into as many projects and initiatives as possible, including the design of new buildings, the renovation of existing ones, the creation of a solar farm, the installation of filtered water stations throughout the campus and the encouragement and support of student theme-based residences that focus on conservation. Wheaton’s efforts are ongoing, but giant steps have been made toward lowering the college’s carbon footprint.

Creating new spaces

Modern comfort, sleek finishes and traditional flair will all combine in the renovations that are planned for the college’s dining halls. More than window-dressing, however, the renovation plans are substantive and critical to the dramatic improvements the college seeks to deliver for students.

Sustainable dining

The renovation of Chase Dining Hall has not only improved the college’s dining program, it has also made the sleek, new facility “greener.” The building has earned honors from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as a LEED Silver certified facility based on the energy efficiency measures built into the design, its use of recycled materials and the “green” construction practices employed during the project.

Cafe facelift

The Balfour-Hood Café is getting a makeover during winter break, reopening in January with eco-friendly menu options, a revamped serving line and a new payment option for students with meal plans.

Next Genius

Wheaton College partners with Next Genius, a Mumbai-based educational initiative that seeks to promote the importance of critical thinking. As Next Genius’s original U.S. college partner, Wheaton awards a full-tuition scholarship to one of the top candidates in the nationwide competition, which includes thousands of students.

Bringing together global leaders

President Hanno led Wheaton’s inaugural Global Leaders Program, teaching about social innovation through a liberal arts lens to high school youth from around the world.

Lessons from Ghana

Delaney Beaudoin ’22 writes about Wheaton’s January trip to Ghana, where college students who taught a course in entrepreneurship found their own education enriched by new perspectives.

Change makers

Thousands of Africans have learned how to become entrepreneurs and leaders, thanks to a series of innovative programs created by President Dennis M. Hanno over the past 15 years.

$10M gift will transform college program

Wheaton received a $10 million commitment from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation to expand and strengthen social entrepreneurship programs at the college.

Winter launch

Each January, motivated Wheaton students return to campus a week early to develop a business idea through the Social Entrepreneurship Launch Program.

United in Philanthropy

Not only did the community of alumni, family and friends help the college reach the $50 million goal of the three-year Creating Possibility initiative, it also pushed the effort over the top for a total of $52.3 million.

Creating Possibility

A late surge in giving propelled Wheaton’s three-year fundraising initiative, Creating Possibility, to a grand total of $52.3 million in new gifts and pledges from 7,500 donors, exceeding the $50 million goal by four percent.

Make a donation in honor of President Hanno’s legacy

Advanced diversity, equity and inclusion

Meaningful steps

Wheaton College has undertaken a significant amount of work to retool our approach to equity, accessibility, belonging, inclusion and social justice.

DEI honors for Wheaton

Wheaton College has been selected to receive a Providence Business News 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Award in recognition of exceptional efforts in promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Wheaton also is being recognized on the 2021–22 Equity and Inclusion Colleges of Distinction list.

New AVP role and office announced

Dean Shaya Gregory Poku has been selected as Wheaton’s inaugural Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity and Belonging.

Notable class

The Class of 2020 was selected from a record number of applications—4,478. It was the largest incoming first-year class in history, at 530 students, with the largest number of international students in an entering class. And they had the highest high school GPA for an incoming class.