R.I.P. Dartmouth College (1769-2007)

by Hal Parker | September 11, 2007 at 11:20 pm

R.I.P. Dartmouth College (1769-2007)

It’s all over, folks. Dartmouth is done. On September 8 all the lights went out in Hanover as Ed Haldeman, Chair of the Board of Trustees snuffed the candle of democracy once and for all. By adding eight (unelected) charter trustees to its membership, the Board has ensured it will never again be troubled by the niggling complaints of semiconductor tycoons and former Reagan speechwriters.

Nah, just kidding. Dartmouth’s still kicking, though things will never be as self-determined as they used to be. Yet I feel like as long as wikipedia pages like this one continue to be well-maintained, Dartmouth is going to be alright.

The response in the meantime from alumni has been vitriolic, to say the least, since naturally every step away from the 1891 constitution is a step into hell. One alumnus ominously comments in our inbox, “This stinks of Russia circa 1905. Sooner or later, there is going to be a catastrophic reckoning,” and threatens to withhold donations, “until democracy is reinstated.”

After the jump: dueling strongly-worded letters to alumni (I know, I know — why aren’t these thrilling documents before the jump?)

This is a letter from Ed Haldeman to all alumni. An alumnus on this site comments, “the soft words of the Trustees’ report cannot hide its thuggery.”

Dear Members of the Dartmouth Community,

Earlier today, the Dartmouth Board of Trustees took several steps to strengthen the College’s governance. Given the intense debate about this issue in recent months, I wanted to write to you as soon as possible to tell you what we’ve done and why. 

Let me start by saying Dartmouth has never been stronger than it is today. It’s one of the most selective institutions in the country. Our commitment to teaching has never been stronger and student satisfaction is at record highs. The student-to-faculty ratio now stands at 8:1. We have expanded the faculty by
15 percent since 2000 and maintained competitive faculty compensation, reflecting the College’s sharp focus on its academic programs. Once current building plans are completed, we will have invested $1.1 billion in new and renovated state-of-the-art facilities since 1998.

Like its peers, however, the College confronts new challenges. We are facing increasing competition for the finest students and the best faculty as well as for the financial resources needed to support the College. And, we operate in an increasingly complex and highly regulated environment. Having the strongest possible governance is a critical factor to ensuring Dartmouth’s continued success in the years ahead.

The changes we are making preserve alumni democracy at Dartmouth by keeping eight alumni-nominated trustees. They expand the Board with eight additional charter trustees, adding alumni to meet the needs of the College. And, they address the destructive politicization of trustee campaigns that have hurt Dartmouth. These changes represent a balancing of competing interests. They are true to Dartmouth’s founding principles. And, they will ensure that, moving forward, the College has a strong, effective, and independent governing body.

Over the past three months, the Board’s Governance Committee conducted a thorough review of this issue. We carefully considered input from many alumni,  current and former trustees, faculty, parents, students, and other members of the Dartmouth community. We consulted with experts in college and non-profit governance and carefully evaluated practices among 30 leading colleges and universities. And, we developed a report to the full Board, which I encourage you to read for yourself at www.dartmouth.edu/governancerepa cappella Admissions aleksey vayner alumni barack obama basketball Brown Columbia Columbia Spectator Cornell crime daily pennsylvanian daily princetonian Dartmouth Drinking Facebook football fraternities freshmen gawker guest editors Harvard Harvard Crimson i-banking IvyGate IvySports new york times nudity Penn plagiarism politics pranks Princeton professors racism RagTime reality tv Secret Societies Sex sororities Sports this is why people hate the ivy league Yale Yale Daily News YouTube

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