Committee 

May 16–18, 2013

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.