[3] James Wright grew up in Galena, Illinois, a small Midwestern town in the 1950s, the son of a World War II veteran.
As president, Wright's priorities included advancing the academic strength of the institution and expanding the faculty, enhancing the out-of-the-classroom experience, strengthening Dartmouth's historic commitment to a strong and inclusive sense of community, building and renovating Dartmouth's facilities and strengthening the college's financial resources.
Under his stewardship, the college's endowment and annual fundraising more than doubled, with more than 67 percent of all alumni/ae making gifts to the Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience.
President Wright worked with Senators Jim Webb, John Warner, and Chuck Hagel on language for the GI Bill that was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in June 2008, to provide a means for private institutions to partner with Veterans Affairs in supporting veterans who matriculated at these institutions (the "Yellow Ribbon Program").
It has served several hundred injured veterans since 2007, and continues today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland.
His scholarly work as a political historian has extended to include military history and questions about American culture and war.
Wright was a commentator in the Harvard Business School case study and supporting film produced by Linda Bilmes.
His most recent book, Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War, published by St. Martin's Press was released April 2017.
Those Who Have Borne the Battle: A History of America’s Wars and Those Who Fought Them, published by Public Affairs Press, was introduced in April 2012 at a Washington event hosted by the Center for a New American Security.
Forever New: The Speeches of James Wright, President of Dartmouth College, 1998–2009, edited by Sheila Culbert, was published by UPNE (University Press of New England, 2012).
The early books he authored or edited included The Galena Lead District: Federal Policy and Practices, 1824–1847 (1966); The West of the American People (1970); The Politics of Populism: Dissent in Colorado (1974); The Great Plains Experience: Readings in the History of a Region (1978); and The Progressive Yankees: Republican Reformers in New Hampshire (1987).