• Alumni Council Approves New Constitution at 195th Meeting

    Saturday, December 1, 2007

Dartmouth Alumni Council
Saturday, December 1, 2007

Contacts: Rick Silverman, President, Alumni Council, (617) 875-8823;
JB Daukas, President-Elect, Dartmouth Alumni Council, (617) 570-1686

HANOVER, N.H.-The Dartmouth College Alumni Council voted to approve a new constitution on Friday, November 30, increasing its membership from 101 to 120 councilors and adopting a set of changes designed to enhance communications between alumni and the College.Ninety-six percent of the 74 councilors present voted to accept the new document.The council may amend its constitution with the consent of two-thirds of council members who are eligible to cast votes.

"The Alumni Council is the designated communications arm of the alumni body," said Council President Rick Silverman, Class of 1981. "These changes strengthen and reflect the alumni voice.The council has been working for seven years to bring its constitution into the 21st century, and we have carefully assessed the need for a more effective and representative structure. The Alumni Council and the Dartmouth College Alumni Association have different constitutions, and the council has tried to make its changes in conjunction with the association.However, an alumni-wide vote to combine the two organizations failed in 2006, and alumni told us that they would like to keep the council and the association separate."

The council has expanded several times throughout its history (most recently in 1990) to adapt to the growing size and diversity of the alumni body.Silverman noted that the increased representation among classes, geographic regions, professional schools, and affiliated groups is needed to serve 68,800 alumni effectively.

Martha Beattie, Class of 1976, chair of the Alumni Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Council Structure, noted that she and the members of the committee "were mindful of the feedback that the council received during the 2006 constitution vote, and we made no changes to the alumni trustee nomination process in this new document."

A copy of the new constitution will be available at the Alumni Council Web site in
early December.