Revers Pledges New Gift to Renamed Center for Energy, Sustainability and Innovation

Since its founding, the Center has engaged hundreds of Tuck students through annual conferences, case competitions, and club activities that explore critical energy and sustainability topics, including ESG investing, AgTech, and the Future of Automotive Mobility—in addition to student engagement with these topics in energy-focused courses, First-Year Projects, and Global Insight Expeditions. The Revers’ latest gift will support these initiatives and spur future collaboration across Dartmouth, including with the newly constructed Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at the end of Tuck Drive.

“Much of what our remarkable students, faculty, and alumni have accomplished through the Center is the result of Dan’s generosity and his belief in the energy sector’s need for wise, decisive leaders who understand the interrelated pressures from climate change, sustainability, and technology,” shares Dean Matthew J. Slaughter. “The Revers Center for Energy, Sustainability and Innovation will continue to thrive in the years ahead as we pursue new opportunities.”

The decision to launch the Center began with conversations between Revers and former Tuck Dean Paul Danos about how to integrate energy more fully into the curriculum. In 2012, Revers endowed a professorship, currently held by Erin Mansur, faculty director of the Revers Center for Energy, Sustainability and Innovation, and provided an initial investment in what was then called the Tuck Energy Initiative. In 2016, April Salas joined Tuck as executive director of the Center, bringing nearly two decades of industry and government experience into her role.

“The Center has been a success that I could not fathom when we initially put this idea together,” says Daniel Revers T'89, co-founder and managing partner of ArcLight Capital Partners and a member of Tuck’s Board of Advisors. “This gift is a measure of appreciation for all that we have done and a reflection of my hope that we will grow our vision even more for what the Center can become. With all that is happening on campus, and at this point in the campaign, it was the right time to double down on our investment.”

Salas says the new gift will allow the Center to stay at the leading edge of innovation while responding to increased demand from MBA students seeking careers in energy. Alongside traditional energy companies like Shell, Irving, and NextEra, she says students are pursuing jobs and internships with a variety of companies within and beyond what is conventionally identified as the “energy sector”—an indication of how energy career paths have expanded in recent years.

“We had a recent student intern in a sustainability role at Peloton. We are sending graduates to Nike to focus on sustainability and innovation. Even food companies are thinking about the impact of climate change on their products,” explains Salas. “The energy job market has changed dramatically. Our anchor will always be energy, but by embracing sustainability and innovation we will continue to prepare Tuck students to land these in-demand jobs and succeed in their roles.”

Since his support for the Center began, Revers has expressed a strong belief that business leaders need to have a broad view of the energy economy and how different energy systems are interconnected. Center faculty director Erin Mansur says the decision to rename the Center reflects that ongoing conviction.

“Energy leaders and companies, both today and in the future, need to have an understanding of why energy systems are changing so quickly and what those driving forces are,” says Mansur, a world-renowned energy economist. “The Center has always aspired to teach and train students how those systems interact within traditional energy companies and companies that are consuming and producing energy.”

Continuing to expand the foothold of energy in the curriculum remains a priority. Over the next year, Mansur says Tuck is considering the addition of two new elective courses related to energy and sustainability, one in marketing and the other in finance. Currently, Tuck offers the courses Energy Economics and Business and Climate Change with the Center also sponsoring more than 20 independent studies each year.

A testament to the Center’s broad reach and impact, roughly 40 percent of each Tuck class engages with the Center and nearly 100 Revers Center Fellows have joined the energy sector upon graduation. Still, Revers says one of the most gratifying aspects of his support is learning about the Center’s role in attracting students to Tuck.

“I am humbled and amazed to hear from a number of students every year who mention the Center as a deciding factor in their decision to enroll,” says Revers. “This is all owed to the collective leadership and expertise that has helped the Center grow from a kernel of an idea into something that is unrecognizable in the most positive way. I cannot wait to see where we are 10 years from now.”