206th Session Meeting Minutes

Committee chair Patrick Martin ’73, ’74Tu opened the meeting, which was dedicated to a thorough review and discussion of five of the nine Strategic Working Group reports that were generated through the College’s Strategic Planning Process.

Vin Pellegrini ’77, ’79GSM and John Rollins ’66 led the committee in a discussion of pedagogy, teaching, and mentorship, with additional input from Dr. Leslie Fall, professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine.

Tom Andrews ’60 led the committee in a discussion of research, scholarship, and creativity, with additional input from George O’Toole, professor of microbiology and immunology, and William Wohlforth, the Daniel Webster Professor of Government.

Mike McClintock ’80 and David Edelson ’81 led the committee in a discussion of experimental Dartmouth, with input from Thomas Cormen, chair and professor of computer science, and Steve Swayne, professor of music.

Bob Davidson ’67 led the committee in a discussion of global Dartmouth, with additional input from Lindsay Whaley, interim vice provost.

Cuong Do ’88, ’89Tu led the committee in a discussion of graduation education for the future, with F. Jon Kull ’88, dean of graduate studies and the Rogers Professor of Chemistry, adding additional insights.

Patrick Martin then led the group in a process to summarize the various points and concerns that had been shared so that a document could be generated and shared with the President’s Office. The committee’s thoughts included:

The Academic Affairs Committee comments that the working group reports were an interesting exercise in brainstorming but lacked an overarching vision and prioritization within the context of that vision. The committee is optimistic that the next step will be to set clear and integrated priorities for strategic actions along with a review of resources needed for implementation.

The Academic Affairs Committee encourages the Dartmouth leadership to retain the emphasis on both undergraduate teaching and great research. We feel that these are not mutually exclusive goals and that they should be pursued concurrently, without compromising the traditional emphasis that Dartmouth has placed on teaching excellence.

The Academic Affairs Committee encourages the Dartmouth leadership to recruit new faculty at a senior level in order to build and enhance existing departments.

The Academic Affairs Committee encourages the Dartmouth leadership to “own” the scholar-teacher niche in higher education. Market this angle to prospective faculty. Use the research on learning from the brain sciences program to bolster this area. Use the transition in Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning leadership to a strategic advantage. Ensure that Dartmouth is not living off its reputation and go forward in measuring educational outcomes. Measure the successes needed to be a leader.

The Academic Affairs Committee comments that if a name change to Dartmouth University is to be considered, an opinion survey should first be conducted among Dartmouth alumni. This topic should be explored more fully before a decision is made.

Vin Pellegrini will become chair of the Academic Affairs Committee in 2013-14 and Brendan Connell ’87 was elected vice chair for that period.

The Alumni Liaison Committee (ALC) met in Hanover twice during the 206th Alumni Council meeting. Its first meeting was held on Thursday, May 14. Committee chair Danielle Dyer ’81, ’89Tu opened the meeting. Committee members discussed feedback received from alumni through their alumni councilors to date. The committee discussed recent events that had taken place on campus, including the student protests during the Dimensions program and the cancellation of classes and programming that took place for the Dartmouth community one day later that week. Next on the agenda was a discussion about the format and timeline for the production of the 2012-13 annual report, which will be shared with the Board of Trustees and posted online for all alumni. Vice President for Alumni Relations Martha Beattie ’76 reported that the Alumni Relations Office recently conducted a satisfaction survey among Dartmouth volunteers. She would like to collaborate with the ALC on the questions and substance of a future alumni survey. Marty Lempres ’84 will chair the ALC next year.

The second meeting was held on May 16, with trustee Annette Gordon-Reed ’81 and acting senior vice president for advancement Ann Root Keith. Marty Lempres provided a recap of the 206th Alumni Council meeting. A discussion about the recent events on campus followed. The next topic of discussion was led by John “J.B.” Daukas ’84, president of the Association of Alumni (AoA). J.B. reported that the Association of Alumni Executive Committee is considering proposing an amendment to the AoA constitution that would require a trustee election only when it is contested. The final topic of discussion was the transition to Phil Hanlon’s presidency.

After a welcome and introductions by chair Paul Elminger ’80, director of athletics Harry Sheehy ’55a and deputy director of athletics Bob “Cep” Ceplikas ’78 gave updates on the state of the athletic program and highlights from the past year. Harry’s presentation included information about new hires, the transition of the ski team to athletics, the growth of recreational programs, DP2 and facilities updates, and the process used to hire and evaluate coaches. Cep described gains made in publicizing away games and televised events to alumni; moving the Wearers of the Green event from every five years in Boston to every year on campus during Homecoming, alternating between varsity and club sports; an update on the football video scoreboard to be installed this year pending town permits; and a report on the number of varsity recruits arriving on campus in the fall (207).

The second half of the meeting was devoted to two lively panel discussions. The first was with two head coaches who both came to Dartmouth in 2010: Rachel Hanson of softball and Chris Drake of men’s tennis. The next panel featured three very impressive student-athletes: Isabel Hines ’13, captain of the Figure Skating Club; Abbey D’Agostino ’14, cocaptain of the women’s cross-country and track team and NCAA champion; and Bronson Green ’14, cocaptain of the football team. The meeting was concluded with the election of Bob Mlakar ’70 as the new vice chair. Mike Vidmar ’03 is the incoming chair, and he thanked Paul Elminger ’80 for all of his leadership and service during the past year.

Committee chair Jay Benson ’90, ’96Tu opened the meeting. Jonathan Goldstein, executive director of communications for development, made a presentation about the Dartmouth website enhancements and iModules. He was joined by Diana Lawrence ’11MALS, senior managing director for alumni communications; James Barkley ’06, manager of online services; and James Payne, managing director for new media/advancement. Diana Lawrence discussed recent revisions to the Dartmouth alumni relations website. The presenters then discussed the iModules product. It will provide classes, clubs, and other alumni groups with a content management system for their use.

Jay Benson, who also serves on the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine editorial board, mentioned that the magazine is going through a process of digitizing all of the archived issues of the magazine. It will provide great links to articles for individual websites.

Vice chair Greg Chittim ’01, ’02Th made a presentation about the Google calendar he has created that allows councilors to import the council schedule into their own personal calendars. Alumni Council deadlines (for example, the deadline to send council communications to constituents) can also be added.

Lynne Gaudet ’81, director of alumni leadership, shared the recent councilor communications metrics. Following the 205th Alumni Council meeting in the fall, 97 out of 111 councilors with constituencies sent an email. Communications Committee member Steve Geanacopoulos ’74 prepared the meeting summary last fall and the majority of councilors used it. He will create a summary for the 206th meeting. An open discussion pertaining to College communications followed.

Greg Chittim will become chair for the 2013-14 year and Peter Elias ’69 was elected to serve as vice chair during that same period. James Napoli, assistant director for class activities, will become secretary to the committee.

Chair Rob Kugler ’67 welcomed the group. After introductions, dean of admissions and financial aid Maria Laskaris ’84 gave an update on the admissions process and the Class of 2017. This year, once again, Dartmouth received applications from students with exceptional academic credentials. There was a discussion about the recent events and community reaction on campus, and how that might impact yield. The yield has proven similar to those of the classes of 2015 and 2016.

Looking ahead, recruiting is underway for the Class of 2018. This summer Dartmouth will host many visitors through Dartmouth Bound, Academic Spotlight programs, and campus tours. The campus visit is critically important in building a talented and diverse applicant pool. An item of interest is the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which centers on whether and how race may be used in college-admission decisions. The range of possible outcomes could affect Dartmouth; however, that decision has not been handed down yet.

Isabel Bober ’04, associate director of admissions, described how the alumni interviewing program is undergoing a comprehensive review. In order to comply with rules governing the protection of minors, alumni interviewer program participants will be asked to complete a disclosure form that states they have read about best practices regarding interviewing and are citizens in good standing.

Vice Chair Lisa Cloitre ’94, ’02Tu and Derek McDowell ’88 reported on the subcommittee examining the role of alumni interview training. The benchmarking completed thus far will provide information that could be utilized by the Admissions Office. Rob Kugler led a discussion regarding the possibility of requiring that applicants “opt in” for interviews by contacting interviewers.

Gary Love ’76 was elected to serve as the vice chair of the Enrollment and Admissions Committee, and Lisa Cloitre will serve as chair, beginning July 1, 2013.

The Honorary Degrees Committee met on May 17 to finalize a list of alumni candidates to be submitted to the Office of the President for consideration by the College’s Committee on Honorary Degrees with respect to the College’s June 2014 Commencement.

Jennifer Avellino ’89, outgoing chair, passed the baton to Michael Gonnerman ’65, incoming chair, and Frederick MacMillan ’66, newly appointed vice chair.

The meeting was called to order by Louis Spelios ’95, Student Affairs Committee chair.

The first item on the agenda was a student panel titled “Dartmouth College Today Panel: Student Perspectives on Campus and Student Life.” Panelists included Meegan Daigler ’14, Julia Bradley-Cook GR’14, and Rohail Premjee ’14. The panelists responded to the following questions.

Can you talk about the current strengths and weaknesses of Dartmouth and campus life?
What are your thoughts on campus social life (Greek, non-Greek, adult life, Upper Valley living)?
Do you feel safe on campus and in Hanover?
What do you think of the College’s new sexual assault and hazing policies?
How would the graduate student community like to be part of the Dartmouth community?

The committee discussed recent events on campus.Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson gave a summary of events leading up to the Dimensions protest and the series of events leading up to the cancelation of classes. Members of the committee shared their perspectives on what would be an appropriate action by the Students Affairs Committee. A motion was made and approved to move the conversation to an online email exchange following the Alumni Council weekend.

John “J.B.” Daukas ’84 will become the Student Affairs Committee chair during the 2013-14 Alumni Council year and Matt Hoffman ’82 was elected to serve as vice chair during that time period.