Messrs Sautter, Goss, Lundstrom, Doyle, French and Marhewson

Greetings from Japan

Subject: Greetings from Taro Shindo

"Dear Ken;

Thank you very much for your kind message.
We both are fine, enjoying our days.

How wonderful it is to hear that you are participating in various activities so positively and your wife continues teaching Latin at a school as head of it!

Japan is recovering step by step from the catastrophe in last March.
There will be a long and hard way before us to the complete recovery. Now we know we should share all the knowledge got through the experience of those devastations with other countries so that they can prepare against emergencies and minimize the damage more effectively.

Thank you for your inquireing if I receive the Class Notes and DAM. Yes, I get them, which always let me recollect “my dear old familiar town Hanover”.

In the hope that 2012 will be good to you and yours.

With best wishes,
Taro Shindo"

1955 Class Receives Runner Up Award

The Class of 1955 cleaned up this month at Annual Meeting of College Class Officers! Doyle elected President of the Year, Sautter is best Treasurer, and Class of '55 is runner up for Class of the Year!

"I would now like to recognize the Great Class of 1955. Your work this past year was exemplary across the board, with excellent results for dues and DCF participation, creative newsletters, an impressive array of special projects, and the biggest mini-reunion in class history. You have also created a stellar widows program, with active communication to 90 widows in the class. I ask the officers of the Class of 1955 to stand and be applauded as the Class Officers Association Executive Committee has awarded you an Honorable Mention for Class of the Year for Classes 26 Years Out or More for the Year 2011."

Mackinac Reunion on June 11-14 by Frank Carleton

WHAT A GRAND WEEKEND

It was a "once in a lifetime experience" to stay in the GRAND HOTEL on Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan for a weekend in June! A college class Mini-Reunion was the occasion and so we left our rental car on the dock at Mackinaw City and took a ferry to the island. There are no cars allowed on the island (except Fire Trucks and Ambulances) and so we caught a horse drawn buggy ride (it had a rear drop down ramp for Nancy's wheelchair) to the hotel. It is hard to describe the magnitude of this 600 foot long four story 1887 luxury edifice. You can Google it to see pictures and the rates. (meals included). Our room was spacious and overlooked Lake Huron. Each room is decorated differently with wrapping paper decor to emphasize it as a gift to the occupants. The hotel has 385 rooms and a staff of 600 for the six months a year that it is open. We started with a cocktail hour followed by dinner in the 850 seat dining room (it seemed full) where a small orchestra played. Our first event was a talk by the hotel historian. I should mention that our group included 55 classmates and almost as many wives or widows of classmates. One classmate, Dan Musser, has owned the hotel since 1979. Sunday evening we took a buggy ride to his summer home for cocktails followed by another buggy ride to the Woods Restaurant that they operate on the island which has a hunting lodge decor. We were lucky that Saturday's cool and cloudy weather changed to 60 degrees and sunshine for the rest of our stay. The lake views were gorgeous!

Monday - after a buffet breakfast in the dining room - we had a panel discussion of classmate Joe D. Mathewson's newly published book, "The Supreme Court and the Press" . Nancy says it is dry reading (she mostly reads novels) but the author, plus Gale Roberson, a lawyer and a Pulitzer Prize winning classmate, Nick Kotz, developed a lively discussion. We had had lunch on Sunday with the author as well as Ken Lundstrom and Dave Anderson, another author whose book , "Q Can the Human Species Survive?", I had read it during this vacation. Unfortunately, his answer to the question is "NO".
Monday afternoon we took a buggy ride tour of the island and marveled at the large and ornate summer homes that the affluent mid-westerners have built on the island. Our final dinner - after cocktails on the hotel porch - was a seven course gourmet treat that started with a lobster tail appetizer followed by an asparagus bisque (soup); a grapefruit sorbet; a lamb chop with forbidden rice and cabbage; a cheese crusted beef tournedo (fillet Mignon) with veggies and potato; a Godiva Chocolate Profiterole (?) with Pistachio ice cream and raspberry sauce; and a whipped Brie Praline, Quince Paste and Black Pepper Brioche. I'm not sure what it all was, but it was delicious! The waiters would remove one plate from the right as they served the next course from the left.
Did I mention that a lady played a harp during our dinner and another one would announce each course after playing a three note gong? Maybe our dining enjoyment was enhanced by the fact that six different wine glasses were part of each place-setting so that a different wine was served with each course. Sort of like the Manor's wine lovers dinner that the Foundation used as a fundraiser. Naturally, speeches, thank-yous to Dan Musser and Betty Brady;, awards to Paul Merriken and Harry Ambrose*;and singing our Alma Mater topped off the evening!
We caught the ferry back to Mackinaw City on Tuesday morning and drove 450 miles to Cleveland to catch our Wednesday plane home.
We would love to return to Mackinac Island and stay at the Grand Hotel again, but only after we win the lottery!
*This actually happened earlier because Harry could not stay for the whole weekend

We lose Hart Perry

W. Hart Perry ‘55, American rowing pioneer, dies at 78

By Maddie Garcia, The Dartmouth Staff

Executive director of the National Rowing Foundation W. Hart Perry ’55 died on Feb. 3 following a 10-day hospitalization in New London, Conn., U.S. Rowing Chief Executive Officer Glenn Merry said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Perry — who rowed for the College and served as a rowing coach and official during his career — was 78.

Perry was traveling on business in London the week before his death. He reported not feeling well upon arrival back in the United States and checked himself into a New London hospital, where he passed away, according to Merry.

In a professional and personal capacity, Perry acted as “everyone’s godfather,” Merry said.
“[Perry] operated on so many different levels that it is hard to pin down all he has contributed,” Merry said. “As director, he helped raise two and a half million dollars to support Olympians, senior and junior rowers. Aside from fundraising, he was giving and generous with his time, effort, connections and support so that rowers could achieve their dreams.”

Perry’s passion for rowing reflected in his work, according to Merry. The construction of the Rowing Hall of Fame at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Conn., was largely a result of Perry’s decade-long negotiation of the opening of a dedicated rowing section in a museum — the only in the United States, Merry said. The exhibition finally opened in 2008.

Perry was honored with a number of awards during his career, including the U.S. Rowing Medal of Honor, the 2010 World Rowing Distinguished Service to Rowing Award and induction into the National Rowing Hall of Fame.

Perry was inducted into the Dartmouth Rowing Hall of Fame and was a member of the Wearers of the Green, a College organization that honors outstanding athletic accomplishments. He also served as chairman emeritus of the Friends of Dartmouth Rowing organization.


As a coach, Perry maintained a professional demeanor and helped rowers improve their techniques, according to his daughter, Lissa Gumprecht.

“The summer before my freshman year at the Kent School [in Kent, Conn.], my dad took me out on the water to teach me how to row,” Gumprecht said. “It was a wonderful experience to spend this time together. When I returned to school that fall, my dad was my rowing coach. I had a problem where I would sky my oar a lot, which is improper rowing form, and my dad kept harping on me to fix it. When I asked him to get off my case he told me, ‘I am not your father on the water, I am your coach.’”

When coaching, Perry most enjoyed the ability to teach people a new skill, Gumprecht said.
“He always reinforced the importance of being on a team, respecting your fellow oarsmen, respecting the sport, the equipment and every aspect of rowing,” she said. “He assured that everyone was treated equally because, in rowing, everyone must row properly.”
Todd Perry, Hart Perry’s son, said his father was known for his very likeable personality.
“My Dad was one of the kindest people I ever knew — period — in my life,” Todd Perry said. “He was always a gentleman and always putting others first. He did what he did out of pure love for the sport and what it did for young oars-people. He kept a low profile in all he did.”

Todd Perry added that his father inspired the best for those he coached.
“My father could conjure up the belief in perhaps not the best group of athletes that they could beat anyone,” he said. “His rowers would push through the metaphorical brick wall and sprint through a burning building for him.”

Although Todd Perry was the only Perry child who did not row at some point, he said he fondly remembers spending time with his father on the water while Perry coached at the Kent School.

Perry also opened American rowing to a wider international audience and served as the first non-British steward at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley, England in 1974, according to Gumprecht. Perry began rowing in 1947 at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass. Gumprecht said Perry’s start with rowing was happenchance.

“My dad tried out for the baseball team when he first got to high school,” Gumprecht said. “But the baseball coach suggested that he look into rowing instead.”

Perry continued to row for the College, where he served the team in different capacities. “At Dartmouth, he started off rowing with the lightweights,” Gumprecht said. “After his first year, he could not make weight and he was too small to row heavyweight, so he became one of the lightweights’ coaches.” After leaving Dartmouth, Perry began a career as a professional coach. He worked for the College, the United States Coast Guard Academy, the Iolani School in Honolulu, Hawaii and Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, among others.

Important letter from Ed Willi

Dear Classmate the following was received from Ed Willi regarding a great project of his, the latest in a long series dealing with alcoholism on the Dartmouth campus. I commend it to your attention.

My best wishes,
John

To: dclass55@aol.com Sent: 11/12/2010 7:14:05 P.M. Eastern Standard Time Subj: AA Play

Dear John:
Thank you for considering a donation to help support bringing the award winning play Bill W and Dr Bob to the Hopkins center for performances in March 2011. This award winning play was written by Dr Steve Bergman and his wife. It had a great run off Broadway and in Boston and now is touring again with help from the Hazelton Foundation.

Dr Bergman (pen name Samuel Shem) is a medical school classmate and friend of my colleague Dr. Joe O'Donnell, co chairman of the D Care Program at Dartmouth. He wrote the book The House of God which has helped to transform the work conditions of medical trainees during internship and residency. Dr Bergman became an addictions specialist, and was always fascinated by the power the twelve-step model, begun by Bill Wilson and Dr Bob Smith a Dartmouth graduate, had in treating addictions. Bergman calls the AA movement one of the greatest public health success stories in our lifetimes.

The play is built around the founding of AA seventy five years ago. The founding of AA has helped spawn all self help groups (not only those for addictions) and was the first ever bio-psycho-social-spiritual model of treatment for illness. It is a story of courage, of community and the impact just two people can have on the world.

Your support will help bring the play to Dartmouth, and we hope this will be a model to foster discussion of substance use issues on campuses across the nation. The professional actors are in recovery themselves and will do audience "talkbacks" after each performance. Joe O'Donnell and other members of the Dartmouth community will organize a series of educational initiatives around the performance.

President Jim Yong Kim has recognized and spoken out about the fact that alcohol use on the Dartmouth campus can be dangerous for our students and can give Dartmouth a bad reputation that hurts the school. The voice of the president behind efforts to reduce harm from drinking are important milestones at Dartmouth.

Donations in support of this project are tax deductible. Checks should be made out payable to THE HITCHCOCK FOUNDATION, along with a notation in the check memo box, indicating “For alcohol education fund”, and should be sent to:

THE HITCHCOCK FOUNDATION
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
1 Medical Center Drive
Lebanon, NH 03756

Your donation will be housed in the Hitchcock Foundation in the newly established alcohol education fund. It can only be used for the play and the educational events that will surround it. Dr. Joe O'Donnell will get back to you by letter acknowledging your tax exempt contribution, and will advise tax ID number to confirm your contribution is deductible.

Thank you very much!
Sincerely yours,
Ed Willi Jr.

CHRISTMAS 2009

FRIENDS:

As usual we begin with Christmas 2008 which we celebrated in Tallahassee with Linda & Bill as well as sons, Jeff and Doug plus grandsons Steve and Rick. After the holiday the Shults family went to Orlando for Florida State's Bowl game. That gave us the opportunity to return to Wakulla Springs with Jeff and Doug for a boat tour of that amazing ecologically diverse river. We also toured the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge along the Gulf Coast.

Back in Eugene we continue to enjoy quality retirement living at Cascade Manor with more activities than we can fit in our schedule, especially when we are season ticket holders at the Eugene Symphony, the Eugene Opera and the Very Little Theater. Add to that a sampling of the Bach Festival offerings in June plus the Oregon Festival of American Music in August and we have about all the "culture" one can absorb. Opps, I forgot the three trips we made to/through Ashland to see a total of seven plays put on by the famed Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It has been a GOOD year!

Our BIG trip of the year was paid for in July 2008 - before the Stock Market tanked - and so late in February we flew to LA and then Tahiti for an eleven day vacation in the Society Islands. We had two nights at a Radisson Resort on Papette for a tour of that island before boarding the Paul Gaugiun for a seven night cruise with stops at four of the islands. The PG is a small - 300 passenger - luxury liner. Naturally we enjoyed the gourmet meals, the open bars and the free entertainment. The lush volcanic "Bali Hi" style islands were georgeous. We took a truck tour around Bora Bora that ended up at the "Bloody Mary" restaurant where we enjoyed one of her namesake cocktails. A bus tour of Morea Island was more confortable and scenic as we drove up one of the mountains for a fabulous view of the bays, mountains and even Papetee. We went back to the Radisson for our last night and had another island tour before flying home. All in all, a wonderful "once in a lifetime" experience.

Our next gig was a July family reunion in a rented house at the Zypher Point Presbyterian Conference Center on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. Not everybody could make it as Steve Shults had just started a job at Miami U. in NCAA compliance and Kyle Harter was in Paraguay for the summer on an AFS soccer camp experience. My sister, Carol, her husband, Reg and their side of the family also could not make it. Still, we had 12 of us there by including Frank's 81 year old cousin, Ed Leeper and his step-daughter, Kira Godbe from Monterey. Many braved the cold lake waters and we toured the beautiful Emerald Bay and its Vikinghome mansion. We all floated in rafts down a segment of the Truckee River and saw "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Sand Harbor State Park theater by the Lake. We also went down to Carson City one day to see the latest Harry Potter movie and eat a pizza dinner at Doug's Hilltop Community Church. Amy, Jeff & Linda fixed great meals, we played card games and talked LOTS!

Over the Labor Day weekend we made our trek down I-5 to Lake Siskiyou near Mt Shasta. On the way down and back we stopped off in Ashland for an OSF play as we had done going to and coming from Lake Tahoe. We rent a cabin and the "kids" stay in tents at Lake Siskiyou. All the Harters came as well as Jeff and Doug. As usual the Tin Man Triathalon with its Saturday night spaghetti dinner is the attraction and I think track star Ben Harter at 13 was the first in the family to finish. Frank just watched the 500+ entrants do the 1500 meter swim - like a school of fish splashing! As usual we went to the Mt. Shasta City Park for their Blackberry Festival event followed by dinner at the Black Bear Diner.

This fall we were able to attend a few of Kyle and Ben's soccer games. Kyle's North Eugene H.S. team won all their league games, but lost in the first round of the State 5A playoffs. I have to report that after TWO years with our hallways torn up for a water and electrical service updrade project, Cascade Manor is lovely again - they have even put up dozens of art work prints on each floor including 3 of ours. We go out with the lunch bunch on monthly trips in the C.M bus and also did a two night excursion to Ashland for two of our plays. We stayed in the historic Ashland Springs Hotel.

Our last trip of the year was back to Tallahassee for Thanksgiving. Again, Jeff and Doug will join us as will Steve and Ricky plus Steve's girl friend, Alex Bondra. We extended our trip on the front end by using an RCI time share exchange to spend a week at the posh Bay Point resort in Panama City on the Gulf Coast. We had a restfull week with dinners out and a tour of a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, but not much swimming as the weather was cool and the pools not heated. The drive back to Tallahassee along the Gulf Coast was scenic and special.

2009 has been an eventful year, but with so many things unsettled - the economic recovery, the Health Care Reform legislation, the Guantanamo closure, the Iraq election and troop reduction, the climate change legislation and conference, the Afghan troop decision, etc - it is hard to know where we are headed as a nation and world. We can only pray that our leaders will make wise decisions and that you and your loved ones will have a happy and healthy 2010. Merry Christmas
Frank and Nancy
P.S.: We hope to see you in Hanover in June 2010 !

August 19, 2009

Dear Class Presidents and Newsletter Editors:

The work of the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee is officially underway. The purpose of this note is to advise you, as volunteer leaders, of where we are in the process and encourage you to help us continue to generate good ideas for candidates to consider for the upcoming election. We would appreciate it if you could forward this communication on to your constituency as appropriate. Our role in the coming months is to attract and recruit the best talent to run for the two open trustee seats that alumni will vote on next spring. We are conducting a rigorous process that hopefully will identify and attract the most qualified alumni willing to serve and run. Our goal is to create excitement among all alumni about the nominees, avoid the rancor of recent elections, continue the positive momentum established with the recent constitutional amendment that received over 80% support of those voting and maintain the goodwill generated from the recent presidential selection process. We want to incorporate a wide spectrum of views. We want alumni to feel good about the nominating and search process that we intend to make fair, inclusive and transparent, yet also appropriately professional and discrete to those under consideration, as all search processes need to be. The Nominating Committee operates independently of the college. It consists of 11 members who have been appointed or elected by their peers on the Alumni Council. The collective profile our committee is representative of not only the 116-person Alumni Council but 69,000 alumni across a number of dimensions: * By class ('70, '73, '75, '80, '81, '82, '87, '89, '91); * By geography (Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco); * By profession (consultants, professionals and executives involved in the healthcare, media, technology, financial services, search and legal professions, as well as previously in government and the non-profit sectors); * By undergraduate major (Government, English, Engineering, History, Archeology, Urban Studies, Asian Studies); * By undergraduate activity (eight fraternities and sororities, three senior societies and activities that include rugby, ski patrol, rowing, riding, student government, debate, Tucker Foundation, Rockefeller Center, DOC, and LSA/FSP); * By Dartmouth activity since graduation (with the majority serving in some capacity at some point as interviewers, alumni fund volunteers, district enrollment directors and/or club or class presidents or other officers); * By demographics (including four women, two people of color, a Native American and an Asian American); * By Dartmouth legacy (including a Tuck graduate and four who are part of multi-generational Dartmouth families, either as legacies or parents); * By leadership in the alumni community (including the current President of the Alumni Council, the President-Elect, and two other former Nominating Committee chairs). Each member of the Nominating Committee shares a passion for Dartmouth and will invest enormous time in this process. We have already reviewed, over the course of ten meetings over the past two years since the last election, nearly 400 alumni profiles, including over 70 submitted since the announcement of the forthcoming election. We have started refining that list down to approximately four dozen highly qualified potential candidates, but continue to seek input. Although we met recently for a full day in New York City, we will have at least 3-4 more full-day sessions in New York, Boston and/or Hanover and numerous phone calls between now and early December to review every name submitted as well as others whom we believe merit consideration. We welcome and encourage continued input from all alumni and hope that our desire for nominations is reaching everyone through at least one of the many communications thus far. These have included an all-alumni postcard mailing, a full page ad in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, stories in Speaking of Dartmouth and Dartmouth Life, an electronic ad in the online version of The Dartmouth, and postcard hand-outs at most major alumni events this summer and fall. Please feel free to contact tdaniels@spencerstuart.com or any committee member directly with your thoughts and recommendations. THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT ALUMNI TRUSTEE CANDIDATE NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2010 ELECTION IS NOVEMBER 3, 2009. We look forward to hearing from you and aim to communicate with you periodically as the process evolves.

The Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee

Thomas T. Daniels '82, Chair (Glen Ridge, NJ)

Rick Allen '75 (Bethesda, MD)

Janine Fate Avner '80 (Los Angeles, CA)

Danielle Dyer '81 '89Tu (Lenox, MA)

Martha Sundberg Hartfiel '83 (Minnetrista, MN)

Thad King '73 (Atlanta, GA)

Susan Luria '89 (Shaker Heights, OH)

Jon Murchinson '91 (San Francisco, CA)

Tom Peisch '70 (Wellesley Hills, MA)

Dennis Ryan '81 (Minneapolis, MN)

Tracey Salmon-Smith '87 (New York, NY)

Jennifer Evans Casey

Assistant Director, Class Activities

Office of Alumni Relations

Dartmouth College

6068 Blunt Alumni Center, Suite 110

Hanover, NH 03755

Phone: (603) 646 2292

Lyn Brock Publishes a Very Interesting Novel

Lyn Brock has published a novel titled "In This Hospitable Land, 1940 -- 1944", set in the time of the Second World War.... It is available at www.Amazon.com. Kirkus Discoveries describes it as follows: "Brock sets this gripping narrative, based on a true story, against an engrossing portrait of rural France during the war... Brock manages to craft an inspiring tale of universal brotherhood. A moving story about the discovery of a true home amid the ruptures of war."

This just in from the Sponsor Program:

1955 once again rated "Head of the Class" for the three giving categories: Number of sponsors (tied for 9), Individual donations (6), and Class donations (3 - $2900).

!955 and 1958 (reunion year) were the only classes to rank in the top ten in all three categories. We also placed well ahead of 1953 (1 category); 1954 (2 categories), 1956 (1), and 1957 (1).

This is the 5th (or more) consecutive year 1955 has placed in the top 10 in all three categories and is now the only "senior class" to be so ranked. (Considering that 1958 is not as senior as we.)

Kudos to the class and to all the individual contributors!

FAMILY & FRIENDS:

Somehow my summer reading turned out to be heavier than usual ! I just finished Zbigniew Brzezinski's THE CHOICE which is subtitled "Global Dominance or Global Leadership". It is a tough read due to his obtuse vocabulary, but the ideas are challenging and I would love to have Class of '55s futurist, Leon Martel, do a session on it at our 55th reunion. Z.B.'s views on American hegemony as well as the dilemma of Globalization are thought provoking.
I am also reading THE NINE to Nancy at bedtime and we are 170 pages (1/2) into it. It is a fascinating look at history of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin subtitled "Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court". Just the chapters on the 2000 election case, Bush v. Gore, are worth the read. He devotes a chapter to each Justice and analyzes the votes on many cases as the Court swings from liberal to centrist to conservative. Of course, Roe v. Wade, is THE issue of each court as its members change. No doubt the second half will stress how critical the 2008 Presidential election will be in that the next president will probably appoint 3 -4 justices.

Have a good August reading. Frank

Sad News - We lose Pete Dromeshauser

I regret to advise you and our classmates that Pete died in Norwell, MA on June 30, 2008 after a hard fought battle with Amyloidosis, a rare blood disease. Carmen Martin his devoted fiancee and  companion can be reached at 23 Lambert Ridge, Cross River,NY 10518,for those who wish to send words of sympathy.
I am sending the Obituary to the Alumni Magazine.

Pete was one of my close friends over the years, fraternity brother in Psi Upsilon, a team mate on the Football team, and companion on many occasions, playing golf, fly fishing, attending reunions, and many other Dartmouth functions. We will all miss him.
Please make the necessary distribution to those
involved in  our 1955 News and leadership.

Thank you, John.

Doug Melville

Note from Woody Goss

Guys, did you pick up on the fact that '55's helping to save swimming also produced the best(?) athlete in the class of 2008, Liz Mancuso?   Huzzah, again! Woody

CLASS OF 1955 GENEROSITY

All of us are aware of the importance of the Dartmouth College Fund in raising funds for current use. Under the leadership of Woody Goss, the Class is generous in annual contributions. What is less well known has been the generosity of our classmates through Bequests and Endowment Funds. With the assistance of Ann Smolowe in the Development Office, we were pleasantly surprised to learn just how generous our classmates are.

BEQUESTS

For several years Stan Bergman has been leading the bequest effort and has volunteered his time to assist a classmate in his estate planning as long as Dartmouth is a beneficiary of some of his estate. 30 of our classmates and one widow are members of the Bartlett Tower Society and have committed to leave funds to To date, the College has received bequests from seven deceased classmates for a total of $808,000.

ENDOWMENT FUNDS

Currently, 15 Scholarship Funds have been created by classmates. These funds are restricted as permanent endowment, and only the income is available annually. One of these funds is the John Sloan Dickey Scholarship Fund. As of Jan 31, 2008 the Dickey Fund had a market value of $252,000. Two of our classmates made significant contributions to the Dickey Fund prior to our 50 Reunion. The income from this Fund helps support three students each year. The book value of all the 1955 Endowment Funds (including the Dickey Fund) is $7.1 million, with a market value of $13.1 million! One classmate made a significant anonymous gift. The income generated from these funds is used primarily for scholarship aid of over $786,000 annually. We frequently compare ourselves to the Class of 1953. While they have established more  Funds, I am delighted to report that we are significantly ahead of them in the value of our  Funds. The Funds of the Class of 1953 have a market value of $6.9 million.

Hi Dan, I can't help responding to some points you raised with Elliott Weinstein.
All trustees are alumni, and those who are named by the board, unlike the petition candidates elected in recent years, have devoted much time, effort and treasure to supporting and strengthening Dartmouth in endless ways over many years. They care deeply about our College, and seek to build it rather than castigate it. Though Dartmouth teachers now need to research and publish to win tenure, Dartmouth is clearly not becoming a research university like your California schools or the other Ivies.  No classes are taught by teaching assistants. Class size continues to diminish.  There are no research professors. All faculty teach undergraduates, most if not all teach freshmen, and they don't achieve tenure without teaching very well, as appraised by their former students.  How many research universities poll former students when an assistant professor comes up for tenure?  And the results, I can tell you from my own experience as a tr! ustee, must be good, no matter what the candidate's research record, for tenure to be awarded. Student satisfaction with Dartmouth, as always, is in a class by itself, especially on the question of access to faculty, where the consistent approval rating is 90 percent and better. Jim Wright, hired to improve the quality of student life, has done just that, focusing fund-raising on dormitories and classroom buildings (as well as faculty chairs and compensation) that enable Dartmouth to stay abreast of the impressive facilities improvements at our peer schools. The size of the student body has not changed in decades...1060 freshmen admitted each year, no change in the number of graduate and professional school students.


In sum, there's no better college than Dartmouth when it comes to the quality of undergraduate education and the ratings of our own students and recent graduates. The experience and enthusiasm of my own grandson, now a sophomore, is a personal confirmation of the generalities and statistics about student satisfaction. How else would you explain the annual, rising tide of top high school and prep school students who apply to Dartmouth, and the phenomenal, always rising, academic and extracurricular records of each freshman class?

You need not worry about your College.  It's superb! 

Cheers!

Joe