Alumni Nominations

Dear Dartmouth alumnus/alumna,

Would you help put the finishing touches on a set of recommendations to strengthen the voice of alumni at Dartmouth?

At issue are the structure of the College's alumni organizations and the process by which 62,000 alumni nominate nearly half the members of the College's Board of Trustees.

Beginning in the fall of 2001, a joint committee of the Dartmouth Alumni Council and the Association of Alumni studied alumni governance, asking alumni, administrators and trustees for their suggestions at 11 regional and Hanover-based forums. Having received plenty of thoughtful advice, the Joint Committee on Alumni Governance and Trustee Nominations presented its recommendations to the Council and Association in December 2002.

The report seeks "(1) a streamlined, representative alumni structure through which the voice of 62,000 alumni would be channeled and conveyed to the Board of Trustees and College administration and (2) an alumni trustee nominating process that better balances the need for highly accomplished trustees with alumni enfranchisement."

We invite you to comment on these recommendations jointcomm@alum.dartmouth.org (an executive summary, the full text and a proposed constitution for the Association of Alumni may be viewed online www.dartmouth.edu/alumni/leadership/JointCommfinal21.html ). We're holding another forum for discussion www.dartmouth.edu/alumni/leadership/jointcomm_forum.htm in New York City on March 31 that you may join in person or by phone.

The Alumni Council www.dartmouth.edu/alumni/leadership/council.htm, which acts a representative alumni senate, will consider any amendments to the proposed recommendations in May. The Association of Alumni www.dartmouth.edu/alumni/leadership/agenda.htm, to which all alumni belong, will consider amendments in September. If there are differences, a committee will iron them out and present a final plan for each organization to vote on in December. If the both the Council and the Association approve the proposal, it will come to you for final ratification in April 2004.

Now is the time to speak up about these important issues. Please contact