In 2028, Dartmouth will have its first campus building named after a woman and its first named after a Black alum. Shonda Rhimes, the celebrated showrunner, producer, screenwriter, and author behind productions like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” pledged $15 million to the school.
The donation is to support the 115-bed residence hall to be built on West Wheelock Street that will bear her name. Construction of the Shonda Rhimes Hall is expected to begin early next year and open in 2028 in time to welcome the Class of 2032, the university said in a statement.
“This extraordinary gift is pivotal for Dartmouth at this time,” said Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock, who began discussing the gift with Rhimes two years ago. “It will directly enhance the student experience while reimagining a key part of campus. I’m grateful to Shonda, who has made a career of creating inclusive worlds where any one of us can be the protagonist of the story. We are honored that her name will grace this building and be a beacon of welcome to the generations of Dartmouth students who will write their own stories here with that same expansive sense of possibility.”
Rhimes said the gift is an opportunity to show how formative her college experience was for her. “It’s also really beautiful to be able to place some legacy on the building—to give back what was given to me and to leave something behind,” she said.
“And at a time when it feels like people are questioning the value of higher education, it feels important to put my money back into higher education,” Rhimes, who is on the Dartmouth Board of Directors, added.
Dartmouth’s move to build new undergraduate housing on West Wheelock Street is part of Beilock’s $500 million commitment to create at least 1,000 new beds for students, faculty, and staff in the next 10 years.
The goal is to provide housing for more than 90% of undergraduates and make housing more affordable for the surrounding communities in the Upper Valley.
When Shonda Rhimes Hall opens in fall 2028, it will house 115 juniors and seniors in apartment-style suites on the north side of West Wheelock Street between the Connecticut River and Thayer Drive, the university said.
Rhimes, who has been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame and Dartmouth’s Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame, lived on campus for all four years as an undergraduate.
“I was a very sheltered kid, and coming to Dartmouth opened my eyes to the world in a way that I never imagined possible—and I could imagine a lot,” the Shondaland CEO said of the Dartmouth residential experience.
Describing itself as one of the world’s greatest academic institutions and a member of the Ivy League, Dartmouth says it has been educating leaders since 1769.
