Orschel January 2012

Orschel May 2011

Orschel January 2011 Elevator Talk

January 2012
Dear Members of the Class of 1961:

Over the weekend of December 1-3, 2011 I attended, as your representative, the 203rd meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council.

As you know, the Alumni Council reports to the trustees on an ongoing basis to facilitate communication between the College and its Alumni.

To that end I encourage you to communicate your questions to me by e-mail at: aorschel@sbcglobal.net. If I cannot answer your question the Alumni Council has the resources to do so and I will let you know their response.

Some Informal Observations:

1. President Kim and Harry Sheehy, Director of Athletics and Recreation
Harry Sheehy shared the following with us at a meeting of his program entitled: "Peak Performance: Fostering Physical, Intellectual and Personal Growth in the Dartmouth Athlete."

Specifically, he told us about a phone call he had received from President Kim one Friday afternoon asking what Harry was doing that evening. Harry said "nothing; my wife is going to be out of town. I think I'll take it easy." So Kim told Harry that they were going to watch a local high school game that Friday night. Kim and Harry sat together throughout the entire game. At its conclusion Kim asked Harry what he was doing Saturday morning and Harry stated "nothing." Kim then said "we're going to play golf." That was fine for Harry until Kim added "I'll pick you up at 4:00 a.m." Harry responded that this was entirely too early and "neither of us could see anything." Kim responded with "we'll tee up and wait until the sun comes out."

2. Alumni Award Presentation
(a) Pete Bleyler received his distinguished Alumni Award at a dinner during our Reunion. In the meantime, the Certificate has been posted in Alumni Hall for all to see.
(b) The December 2011 winners were David Eichman ('82), Susan Finegan ('85) and Curtis Welling ('71, '77 TU). Their achievements were extraordinary.
3. "Downtown Hanover" Hotel Accommodations

The December 3rd weekend was also the last weekend that The Hanover Inn would be available until commencement 2012. The Inn is going through significant modifications, renovations, and improvements.

The newest "downtown" accommodation is the hotel at Sixth South Street. It comprises approximately 70 rooms. It features a modern interior. Since I was in Hanover for three nights in December I spent two at the Inn and the third at the Sixth South Street facility. The rooms at the latter are priced significantly lower than at The Hanover Inn.

4. Visual Arts Center

The Visual Arts Center footprint is between the Hanover Inn and Hopkins Center. It is to be a four story building.

5. Diversity

This continues to be an issue at many levels. One problem is obtaining and retaining faculty, advisers, and counselors. Many such people will accept an offer at the College but then after several months, on campus, they receive an offer from another school or entity and therefore stable staffing is very difficult.

6. The Non Silo Approach

There are several over arching objectives or programs being advanced by President Kim. One is the Dartmouth Strategic Plan. The other is the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Service. Both operate on separate tracks and the two programs are in their second year.

What is unique about both programs is the concerted attempt undertaken to broaden the number of participants, the number of departments, the number of divisions, the number of programs and input from people with different perspectives and positions with respect to the two major programs. The benefit of this "cross selling" (as contrasted to the "Silo Approach") is enormous.

Alan

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May 2011 Alumni Council Report

July 1, 2011

TO: Members of the Class of 1961

FROM: Alan R. Orschel

Over the weekend of May 19-21 I attended, as our Class Representative, the 202nd Meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council. The 203rd meeting will be held in December 2011.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Council, here is a snapshot:

The Council comprises about 125 Alumni; approximately 90 attended. We meet twice a year in Hanover (May and December). Council members, who serve a 3 year term, represent Alumni by class, organization, affiliated Alumni Groups, and regions. As a councilor, I serve on the Academic Affairs Committee.

The Alumni Council reports to the trustees on an ongoing basis to facilitate communication between the College and its Alumni. To that end I encourage you to communicate your questions, concerns and ideas to me by e-mail (aorschel***sbcglobal.net). If I cannot answer your question the Alumni Council has resources to do so. I will let you know their response.

The detailed report of the three day conclave can be found below my remarks. It encapsulates the material better than I can, therefore I will not attempt to compete.

2. We also attended a break-out meeting on diversity on the campus. The issues are far broader than the diversity issues that the College attempted to foster 54 years ago. It is a multi-level and multi-faceted topic. The College and the students are focused on continuing to improve these challenges.

3. One facet of that (diversity) was the support services provided to students. Without detailing its significant components, the College is still struggling with support services in much the same way that was personified by my freshman counselor, Paul Zeller, maestro of the Glee Club. I knew more about my major than he did; I certainly knew a lot less about singing than Paul did! The College is trying to address the issue by splitting the problem into parts and then dealing with the components. In addition, supplemental staff is being employed.

4. One of the issues our group was challenged to address was the issue with respect to reunion formats. This was not an invitation to critique our wonderful reunion but to evaluate all parts of the reunion process. For example, should we abolish the weekend reunions of about ten classes? Should we hold reunions in the fall? Should we make them a one day event? If you have ideas or suggestions about any facet of the reunions please share those with me and I will pass them on to the Alumni Council.

Thank you.

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In recent years, the Alumni Council Communications Committee has provided an account of each Alumni Council meeting that councilors can use to convey to their constituents a sense of what we saw and heard. This report was written by Debbie Atuk Tu'04 and Sarah Jackson-Han '88.

This was the 202nd meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council. In 1913, Ernest Martin Hopkins formed the council to guide and support Dartmouth Alumni Relations. The mission of the Alumni Council now is to sustain a fully informed, representative, and engaged exchange of information and sentiment between the alumni and the College, and to enhance and inspire alumni involvement that furthers the mission of the College.

This report is meant to complement the wealth of information—about this council meeting and alumni affairs in general—available on the Office of Alumni Relations Website. If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to save this address among your “favorites.”

The Elevator Talk

Alumni Council meetings provide a plethora of information on a broad range of topics. This is a bullet point summary. See below for expanded information.

• President Jim Yong Kim '82a addressed the councilors on Friday focusing on three topics: innovation at the College, student health, and student life.
• Martha Beattie '76 attended the session in her new role as vice president for Alumni Relations.
• Tom Daniels '82 gave an update from the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee, which he chairs.
• Alumni Council election results were announced. Danielle Dyer '81 Tu'89 will become president of the Alumni Council and Marty Lempres '84 will be the president-elect. Regina Glocker '88 and Jennifer Avellino '89 will join the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee. Alan Barstow '75 was elected to the Alumni Liaison Committee.
• Mark Davis '81 Tu '84 was appointed to the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee and John Walters '62 was appointed to the Alumni Liaison Committee.
• Dean of Faculty, Arts & Sciences, Michael Mastanduno reflected on his first year, gave a preview of the upcoming curriculum review, and answered questions from the floor.
• Carrie Pelzel '54a, senior vice president for Advancement, presented on “Reimagining Reunions at Dartmouth.”
• Campus tours provided alumni with the opportunity to visit new athletic facilities, the transformation of Thayer Dining Hall into the new Class of 1953 Commons, as well as the Rauner Library Special Collections, the Hood Museum, and the fabled underground steam tunnels.
• Alumni were invited to formally visit with students to discuss a topic of their interest. Topics included the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN), off-campus programs, high-risk drinking, diversity, and the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC).
• Dartmouth College Trustees Peggy Tanner '79 and Bill Helman '80 made a presentation from the Board of Trustees that focused on College finances and student life.
• We “met” the Class of 2015 when Maria Laskaris '84, dean of admissions and financial aid, gave us an update on admissions, noting a 19-percent increase in applications from the previous year.
• Councilors had an opportunity to return to the classroom on Friday morning to attend an undergraduate class.
• A delightful panel of students involved with community service shared what their experiences have been, how they got involved, and what it has meant to them.

Alumni Council President Tom Peisch '70 opened the 202nd Alumni Council and noted that 90 percent of our 125 alumni councilors were present. He introduced the newest councilor, Gordon Campbell '70, the former premier of British Columbia. Senior Vice President for Advancement Carrie Pelzel introduced new Vice President for Alumni Relations Martha Beattie '76, former president of the Alumni Council and magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth’s first four-year class to matriculate women. Beattie has had a 30-year career as a math teacher, crew coach, and volunteer leader and board member for a range of charities and schools. “We can get even better—we will need all of you and all your ideas to do this,” she said. The vice president for Alumni Relations is charged with strengthening connections with Dartmouth's 71,000 alumni and engaging them in the life of the College.

Tom Daniels '82, Chair, Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee

Councilors received an update on the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee from Tom Daniels. Tom reviewed the alumni trustee nomination process the committee undertook to select the candidates for the most recent election for the two alumni-nominated trustee vacancies, including its working agenda and timeline. Tom also listed the incoming councilors who will join the Alumni Council on July 1, 2011, to represent classes, regions, affiliated groups, professional schools/programs, and other constituencies.

As of this April, Dartmouth alumni nominated two new alumni trustees to the board and elected a new Association of Alumni Executive Committee. Approximately 15.5 percent of the Dartmouth alumni body participated in the election. New trustees are Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and Bill Burgess '81, who joined the board on June 12, 2011, following Commencement ceremonies. More about Nominating Committee procedures is available online.

Conversation with President Kim

Next on the agenda, President Kim made a presentation based on feedback that was solicited from the Alumni Council in advance of the meeting. In his address, he discussed three topics: innovation at the College, student health, and student life.

“We want to be the place where entrepreneurial scholars come because we’re going to be friendlier than any other institution” in supporting their ideas and bringing them to fruition, he said. Both tradition and innovation are essential.

“Every year we want Dartmouth to be responsible for a fundamental innovation in higher education,” he said, such as the Center for Health Care Delivery Science and a broad effort to address high-risk drinking. President Kim cited new Dartmouth research showing that exercise in adolescents doubles the amount of time during which they remember data. Involvement in athletics therefore reinforces learning.

President Kim also discussed new initiatives aimed at supporting first-year students through mentoring, and other programs that demonstrate Dartmouth’s understanding of what students need to succeed. On student health, he identified five critical areas: high-risk drinking, sexual assault, depression, tobacco use, and eating disorders. The College must focus on creating opportunities for healthy social interactions and keep those initiatives that work.

Dartmouth’s aspirations are:

• Global leadership in teaching;
• Cutting-edge interdisciplinary research;
• Enhanced leadership in higher education;
• Tackle sustainability;
• An alumni network unlike any other; and
• To be the institution of choice for the best faculty, students, and staff.
  

According to Dean Mastanduno, the quality of the Dartmouth student body is simply too good to listen passively. It is his opinion that Dartmouth students want to be part of the process—they want to be active learners and researchers in their own right. It is Dartmouth’s responsibility, then, to create the environment to foster those aspirations.

Mastanduno is finishing his first year as dean of faculty. His first year was clearly affected by the severe budget cuts and constraints that the College has had to implement. Mastanduno appreciates President Kim’s approach—that of facing the problem head on, trying to solve it as quickly as possible, while trying to maintain the core values of the institution, and then moving on to other things. Mastanduno says Provost Carol Folt’s launch of a strategic planning initiative is the signal to move ahead.

Dean Mastanduno commented, “We have gone from 350 to 415 faculty during the course of a decade. This has allowed us to do so much more both on the teaching side and on the research side.” Dartmouth teaches between 1,500 and 2,000 courses, in 40 departments and programs, and student demand for social science courses is high. Mastanduno said he planned to gather faculty soon to review the curriculum and arts and sciences programs. The graduate schools have also adapted some graduate courses for undergraduates, such as a class on strategic decision-making in a liberal arts context.

Reimagining Reunions with Carrie Pelzel, Senior Vice President for Advancement

At the 201st alumni council session in December, Carrie Pelzel presented an overview of the new Advancement division to the council. Throughout this, the 202nd session, the alumni were informed, directly or indirectly, of the progress on some of these initiatives, such as building the team and reimagining the reunion experience.

Build the team: Three key searches are being brought to a close (vice presidents for Alumni Relations, Development, and Communications). Martha Beattie has been hired as the vice president for Alumni Relations. Two announcements followed the session completion for vice president for Development and vice president for Communications. Roderic (Roddy) Olvera Young has been appointed vice president for Communications. Tom Herbert was named vice president for Development.

Reimagining Reunions: Carrie Pelzel noted that between 2,200 and 2,400 alumni—or about 23 percent of reunion-class alumni—attend reunions every year. Although other Ivy League universities tabulate results slightly differently, their reunion yields range from 14 percent to 35 percent. Staff found that the classes with the lowest reunion turnout have had consistently low turnout at every reunion. In general, alumni return in larger numbers for their fifth reunions but drop off as their professional and personal obligations expand; turnout rises again several decades later. Pelzel offered the following ideas to consider for reunions:

• Saturday all-day programming;
• Saturday evening spectacular event;
• Creative fun;
• Venues for affiliations other than classes;
• Life-changing lectures or experiences; and
• Address by the president.

At subsequent focus groups, we brainstormed about potential reunion programming ideas and considered whether clustering reunion classes should continue, whether the College might subsidize more of reunions to reduce cost, and how to schedule reunion activities around shared interests. One group recommended scheduling activities geared toward life stages, such as seminars on returning to the workforce after a hiatus to care for children or parents, or on how to reinvent ourselves post-retirement.

Remarks by Trustee Jeff Immelt '78

General Electric CEO and Dartmouth Trustee Jeff Immelt was the keynote speaker on Saturday night. Deborah Klenotic covered Mr. Immelt's remarks to the alumni in her article for the alumni website, “ ‘Truly the Big Green’: Alumni Council Explores Dartmouth's Reach in 202nd Session.”

Update from the Board of Trustees: Peggy Tanner '79 and Bill Helman '80

Dartmouth Trustees Peggy Tanner and Bill Helman made the presentation from the Board of Trustees with their comments focused on the College finances and student affairs. Topics covered included the following:

• Helman reflected on the strategic approach that Dartmouth took to closing the budget gap.
• Regarding board membership, Helman said, “We’re trying to get the best managers to make the decisions for us and be broadly diversified to get the best long-term returns.”
• Tanner discussed Provost Carol Folt’s strategic planning initiative and commented on the work of the board's Student Affairs Committee.
  

Meet the Class of 2015: An Admissions Update by Maria Laskaris, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

Dean Laskaris said that the number of applicants has more than doubled since 2005—from 10,000 to about 22,000. Some 2229 applicants were admitted this year, which is about 9.7 percent of the applicant pool. The Admissions Office is focusing its messaging on Dartmouth’s affordability and accessibility, and it considers applicants based on their substantive commitments, in addition to academic excellence.

Historically, the yield for accepted students is about 50 percent “and there’s an awful lot we do to make sure applicants take a hard look at Dartmouth,” she said. “Admissions uses phone calls, alumni clubs, Facebook, email…to convince them to come; this year they tried more videos, online chats, and now Spanish- and Chinese-language chats.”

Laskaris then showed a video, about a unique student who was just accepted. “We are steadfastly committed to a need-blind admissions process…there are only a handful of institutions that are committed to this,” she said.

Community Service Student Panel

Councilors enjoyed a student panel called “’Round the Girdled Earth,” in which the following panelists spoke about their community service involvement:

Wills Begor '12 volunteers as a member of the Dartmouth Ski Patrol, is an active member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and is a James O. Freedman Presidential Scholar in the economics department. About 18 months ago, Wills co-founded a nonprofit, Project RightChoice, that promotes leadership development through the framework of social action. In its first year of operation, Project RightChoice raised $104,000 for the Fisher House Foundation and its work on behalf of our nation’s wounded veterans and their families. To date in 2011, Project RightChoice has raised more than $20,000 for Water.org in order to provide clean water and sanitation facilities to communities in Haiti and Ethiopia.

Emily Broas '11 is currently the student director of education programs at the Tucker Foundation, where she advises school outreach projects that address literacy, college awareness, in-school mentoring, and English language tutoring. She has also volunteered with the Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth program as an academic coach and has chaired the STAR Mentoring program for teenagers dealing with chronic health issues and disabilities.

Ahra Cho '11 has worked closely with the Tucker Foundation, leading an alternative spring break trip to New Orleans, working as a Dartmouth Partners in Community Service intern at the Children’s Advocacy Center, and volunteering as a Tucker Fellow in rural Ghana. Currently, she is the chair of Students Fighting Hunger and works at the Tucker Foundation as the student director of the Alternative Spring Break Program.

Mayuka Kowaguchi '11 has been involved in service at Dartmouth through ASPIRE as a trained mentor to children on the autism spectrum and as philanthropy chair for her sorority. Most recently, she coordinated the Dartmouth for Japan initiative, the student effort to raise money and awareness for the Tohoku earthquake in Japan.

Ahmad Nazeri '11 is an undergraduate advisor, a member of Beta Alpha Omega, and has served as the chair of America Reads and as the president of Al-Nur, the Muslim Student Association. He currently serves as the student director of Tucker Foundation. Additionally, he has participated in various activities at Tucker, including leading an alternative spring break trip to San Francisco this past spring. Following the spring break trip, he completed an off-term, Tucker-funded internship at the Refugee and Immigration Services in Richmond, where he helped refugee students with homework and developing reading skills. Next year, he will be teaching high school social studies in Baltimore through Teach for America and he hopes to pursue a career in education.

Committee Reports

Committees meet at least once during the Alumni Council session. Each committee then presents a verbal report to the council at the end of the session and submits a written report soon after the session disperses.

Committees include: Academic Affairs, Alumni Awards, Athletics, Communications, Enrollment and Admissions, Honorary Degrees, Student Affairs,Young Alumni, and Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award. Additionally, there is an Executive Committee, a Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee, and a committee that liaises with the trustees: the Alumni Liaison Committee (ALC). Committees often work throughout the year, not just during Alumni Council sessions. The ALC and the Executive Committee have monthly meetings.

The ALC’s 2010–11 annual report to the Dartmouth Board of Trustees is in the process of being drafted and will be presented later this year. A link to last year’s report is available online.

The chairs of all committees presented verbal summaries of their respective committee meetings. Full reports on the meetings will be posted on the Alumni Council website.

Open Microphone

Deborah Atuk, Native American Alumni Association of Dartmouth representative, suggested that a committee at the Alumni Council level be formed in order to address minority faculty recruiting and retention. Chief of Staff David Spalding '76 responded to the suggestion from the floor and Danielle Dyer, president-elect, said the issue would be discussed by the executive committee.


Relevant Links

The ALC's 2009–10 annual report to the Dartmouth Board of Trustees

Nominating Committee Report

For more information on trustee initiatives, read “Visible and Accessible,” an interview with board chair Steve Mandel '78, on priorities for the board

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January 2011 Alumni Council Report

Dear Members of the Class of 1961,

Over the weekend of December 2, I attended, as your representative, the 201st meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Council, here is a snapshot:

The Council comprises about 125 alumni; approximately 90 attended. We meet twice a year in Hanover; the next conclave will be about three weeks before our 50th. Council members, who serve a three-year term, represent alumni by class, organization, affiliated Alumni Groups, and regions. As a Councilor, I serve on the Academic Affairs Committee.

The Alumni Council reports to the trustees on an ongoing basis to facilitate communication between the College and the Alumni.

To that end, I encourage you to communicate your questions and concerns to me by e-mail: aorschel***sbcglobal.net If I cannot answer your question, the Alumni Council has the resources to do so. I will let you know their response.

Two current trustees attended the meetings: Sherri Oberg (1982, Tuck 1986) and Brad Evans (1964). Trustee candidates, Gail K. Boudreaux (1982), and Bill Burgess (1981), attended and spoke to the Council.

Pete Bleyler, my predecessor, and Ivar Jozus, representative of the Class Treasurers, were the other ‘61s present. The minutes of our organization’s activities in early December are included at the end of this memo, and are identified as the Report of the 201st Alumni Council Meeting.

My thoughts on the Meeting are as follows: I believe the College has been invigorated significantly in the past two years and continues to be a place of passion and excellence. The leadership of President Jim Yong Kim; Dean of the College Sylvia Spears; Provost Carol Folt; the presentations made by the proposed trustees, Gail and Bill; the current trustees, Brad Evans (1964) and Sherri Oberg (1982 Tuck 1986); the women’s Lacrosse coach (finishing her l7th year); and others together comprise a formidable team.

The person who most embodies the new spirit, passion, purpose and excellence is Harry Sheehy. He is an exceptionally articulate speaker. He reminds me of Lou Holtz, Notre Dame’s football coach in the 1980’s. At that time, I took a colleague to a black-tie dinner at which Holtz was the featured speaker. Holtz concluded his remarks shortly before 10 PM. My partner was so charged up, he went back to our office to work!

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Alumni Council meetings provide a plethora of information on a broad range of topics. This is a bullet point summary. See below for expanded information.

• Approximately 75 percent of undergraduate students participate in athletics.
• In the past six months, two student-presidential committees have begun meeting to address issues related to undergraduate alcohol consumption/harm reduction and sexual assault. The committees have conducted research and made concrete recommendations to improve student safety on campus.
• Gail Koziara Boudreaux ’82 and Bill Burgess ’81 were approved as the two alumni-nominated trustee candidates.
• With the upcoming 250th anniversary, the College is formally engaged in the process of strategic planning.
• The College’s budget forecast continues to improve and is on track for a budget surplus by fiscal year 2011.

Athletics was the theme for Thursday’s dinner. According to Tom Peisch ’70, athletics is part of the heart and soul of Dartmouth. In fact, 75 percent of undergraduate students participate in athletics. In keeping with this theme, councilors were seated with coaches. Peisch introduced Dartmouth’s new director of athletics and recreation Harry Sheehy. Sheehy started his new job in August 2010.

Keeping Students Safe: An Overview by Acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears

Dean Spears emphasized a sense of urgency to make campus programs stronger and more effective. The major goal is harm reduction: reducing the likelihood that students will get into dangerous situations. She wants to provide incentives for good decision-making, minimize the incidence of excessive alcohol intake, and provide ready access to help

In the past six months, two student-presidential committees have been formed on alcohol/harm reduction and sexual assault. Both committees have conducted research and benchmarking and presented recommendations to President Kim and Dean Spears. An administrative review has also addressed both areas. (See links at the end of this report to The Dartmouth online for related articles.)

Statistically, Dartmouth is on par with peer institutions in the numbers of students who participate in heavy or binge drinking. The good news is that there is a growing community of students who identify themselves as light drinkers or nondrinkers. However, a trend that has emerged is “pre-gaming,” or drinking before a party begins, often by drinking hard alcohol within residence halls. The dean’s office is working with residence education to reduce this behavior.

In 2005, the College instituted a harm reduction program called the Good Samaritan policy. Under this policy, anyone who has consumed too much alcohol, or anyone concerned about another student who has consumed too much alcohol, can make a call to Safety & Security to seek medical assistance without facing punitive action. Since this policy has been instituted, calls to Safety & Security have increased, strongly suggesting that students are calling sooner for help.

Increased training for student groups emerged as a recurring theme in this presentation. Students need concrete skills such as conflict management in dealing with intoxicated people whom they know they should keep out of a party. They need to know what to do when something goes wrong at a party—and they need to learn from such incidents to ensure they don’t happen again.

In addition, a sexual assault committee, comprising women and men, is actively working with students, faculty, and staff to increase education on this topic.

Panel Presentation

Members of this panel, moderated by Dean Spears, included Harry Kinney, director of Safety & Security; Judy Doherty, Hanover selectboard member; J.B. Daukas ’84, chair, Ad Hoc Committee to Support Greek Letter Organizations; and Max Yoeli ’12.

Max Yoeli ’12 serves as a student co-chair of the Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee. He is a fraternity social chair and a member of the Dartmouth College-Town of Hanover Joint Task Force.

The joint task force has taken on the task of producing two videos. The first completed video, produced by Dartmouth’s Student Assembly and the Town of Hanover, is titled “Homecoming in a Word.” The message of the video, according to Dean Spears was “have fun, be aware of your surroundings, take care of your community, and take care of each other.” There are plans for a second video to provide students who have been sexually assaulted with all the information they need to get help. The county prosecutor and the police department have been helpful with this project.

Daukas restated the purpose of the Ad Hoc Committee to Support Greek Letter Organizations: to help sororities, fraternities, and co-ed organizations to endure and thrive. A full report of the committee’s findings is on the Alumni Council Website.

Four subcommittees have formed with the tasks of increasing alumni involvement, increasing faculty involvement, improving physical plants, and conducting long-range planning including trying to get more sorority houses on campus. This committee is particularly focused on re-invigorating or creating an alumni advisory board for each Greek house. They are also seeking alumnae to adopt sororities as the presence of sororities on campus is relatively new.

Dean Spears asked panel members for their opinions on the challenges that the College faces on these issues:

Harry Kinney – “There is more open dialogue than ever. The challenge is maintaining momentum. Keep the dialogue going. Every four years there is a complete turnover of students. Keep students engaged to make Dartmouth a safer place.” One of the positive outcomes of the dialogue is the response that the Hanover police has to the “Good Sam” calls. There has been a dramatic increase in Good Sam calls to Safety & Security. In the past, the police followed ambulances to Dartmouth-Hitchcock and issued citations under the New Hampshire “possession by consumption” law. Now, if the student has no prior record, Hanover police give the student a pamphlet and refer him or her to diversion (alcohol education). If the student enrolls in diversion within seven days, no arrest occurs.

Max Yoeli ’12 – “Students recognize this [joint task force] is very preliminary, but it is very promising. These are student problems and require a student-based solution. There is a need for the administration to pave the way. GLOs shoulder a lot of responsibility. They need support.” He also suggested that the College put comparable funding in place to counsel and advise young men as it does to counsel young women. Otherwise, he said, the task of defining “what is masculinity” and how to think about women at Dartmouth would fall on the shoulders of the fraternities. He suggested that increased advising for men on campus would nip harmful gender dynamics in the bud.

J.B. Daukas ’84 – Over the last three years the Hanover police have arrested 212 Dartmouth students for alcohol-related offenses—more than all other Ivy institutions combined. New Hampshire’s “possession by consumption” law allows students to be arrested if they have ingested any alcohol.

Judy Doherty responded to Daukas, saying that the task force is discussing the unintended consequences of the “possession by consumption” policy. Collaboration between the town and the College has exposed the magnitude of resources already being deployed by Dartmouth to address these [alcohol-related] problems, she said, describing this as a tremendous first step. The committee membership now includes approximately 30 people.

Presentation of 2011 Alumni-Nominated Trustee Candidates

Tom Daniels ’82, chair, presented an overview of the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee and the extensive process the committee undertakes to present qualified and willing candidates to the council.

According to Daniels, the Nominating Committee membership is diversified by class year, undergraduate and alumni experience, and profession. Committee members represent seven classes over four decades. The median graduating year of the group is 1981. Committee members with diverse undergraduate experience provide windows into the spectrum of undergraduate experience that exists on campus: fraternities, sororities, sports, senior societies, and campus organizations. The range of professional experience on the committee brings a critical eye and judgment necessary for reviewing potential candidates. The committee represents a broad range of alumni experience as well. The committee members have served the College as class, club, and affiliated group presidents; DEDs, DCF fundraisers, and College interviewers. The committee is comprised of six men and two women.

The objective of the Nominating Committee is to conduct a vetting process that is broad-based, thorough, rigorous, discreet, and independent. Their aim is to attract the strongest possible candidates who understand the enormous complexity of the institution. To this end, the search criteria for alumni-nominated trustee candidates include:

• Understanding of board dynamics
• Accretive skill set
• Broad appeal
• Credibility
• Willingness to run
• Passion and energy directed toward Dartmouth

During the fall, the committee reviews and prioritizes nominees, conducts reference checks, and narrows the candidate pool. In any given year, there is a pipeline of 500-1,000 qualified candidates

Following the 2010 November deadline, 10 to 15 high-priority prospects were targeted. Seven were invited to interview in New York in eight-on-one sessions, after submitting written answers to questions prepared by the committee. Finally, the committee selected and presented two nominees to the Alumni Council for approval. The committee’s recommendations for the two open alumni-nominated trustee vacancies are Gail Koziara Boudreaux ’82 and Bill Burgess ’81.

Gail Koziara Boudreaux ’82

Gail Koziara Boudreaux ’82 has more than 25 years of experience in health care and business at the management and board level. She is recognized as one of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes, and one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business by Fortune.

Boudreaux holds an MBA, finance and health care administration, from Columbia Business School. Originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts, Boudreaux is married, has two sons, and is a resident of Lake Forest, Illinois.

Career highlights: Currently EVP, United Health Group and President, United Healthcare. Former EVP, Health Care Services and former President, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. Serves on the board of Genzyme, Chicago Executive Club, Chicago Field Museum, and America's Health Insurance Plans. Former board member, Metropolitan Planning Commission, Mid-America Club, and YWCA’s President Advisory Council.

As a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and Dartmouth’s Wearers of the Green, two-time All-American in basketball and track, and three-time Ivy League Player of the Year, Boudreaux is one of Dartmouth’s preeminent athletes. In fact, Boudreaux still holds 12 Dartmouth records, including all-time scoring and rebounding in women’s basketball.

As a student, Boudreaux was a member of Fire & Skoal, Green Key, and DCAC. She was active with tutoring for Academic Support Program, and with Aquinas House and Shriner’s Hospital for Children. She has served as her class officer, as an Alumni Council representative, class and leadership agent, and admissions interviewer.

Bill Burgess ’81

With a career spanning more than 25 years in technology, venture capital, and corporate finance, Bill Burgess ’81 has extensive experience in corporate governance. He also has a strong commitment to education, the environment, and community service.

Career highlights: Managing general partner, ABS Ventures. Previously, managing director and global head of Deutsche Bank Capital Venture Partners; vice chairman of Global Corporate Finance; global co-head of investment banking and head of technology investment banking, Alex Brown & Sons. Burgess is a board member of Adeptra, ClickSquared, and HighRoads; and previously served on the boards of PowerDsine (Microsemi) and Clearforest. He is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the New England Aquarium. He is also trustee and treasurer of St. Mark’s School. In the past, he has served as a board member for: The Nature Conservancy (MA), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Investment Committee), and St. Peter’s Church of Weston (treasurer).

As a student, Burgess played football, lacrosse, and rugby. He was a member of Sphinx and Palaeopitus and served as president of Alpha Delta and the Inter-fraternity Council. As an alumnus he has served as his class president, alumni councilor, and chair of his reunion giving committee.

Burgess earned an MBA at Harvard Business School, is married, and has five children. He resides in Weston, Massachusetts.

Alumni Council Approves Alumni-Nominated Trustee Candidates

The Alumni Council approved the alumni-nominated trustee candidates presented by the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee (89 approved, 1 abstained). The petition filing deadline is February 3, 2011. Five hundred alumni signatures are required to run by petition. The four-week election will take place from March 9 to April 6, 2011.

Advancement Strategy, Your Critique and Ideas: Carrie Pelzel ’54a Senior Vice President

Carrie Pelzel ’54a, senior vice president for Advancement, presented an overview of the new Advancement division to the council. Comprised of the activities of Public Affairs, Alumni Relations, Development, and Volunteer Leadership, the Advancement division’s goals are to raise Dartmouth’s reputation and visibility among key audiences, inspire alumni to make Dartmouth one of their highest priorities in life, make Dartmouth a vibrant and contributing force in the lives of her graduates, and raise the maximum dollars possible for the College’s priorities. She outlined the following recent initiatives of Advancement:

• Build the team: 3 key searches (vice presidents of Alumni Relations, Development, and Public Affairs)
• Analyze where current funds are spent
• Integrate HR/finance functions
• Build a model for strategic outreach
• Add market research and marketing function
• Create expectations about how people work together
• Grow the DCF to meet SBRI targets
• Reimagine the reunion experience
• Launch alumni career and life development programs

On Friday afternoon, councilors were able to attend one of three faculty lectures:

Andrew Samwick, professor of economics and Rockefeller Center Director for Public Policy and the Social Sciences, presented a talk on the U.S. economy entitled “Timely, Targeted, and Temporary: Three Years of Stimulus and Bailouts.”

Jennifer Lind, Assistant Professor of Government, lectured on “Succession and Stability in North Korea.”

Marcelo Gleiser, professor of physics and astronomy, spoke on “The Philosophy of Everything: Being Human in an Imperfect Universe.”

Dartmouth as Model of Innovation: President Kim’s Speech to Alumni Council

President Kim presented to the council over dinner about Dartmouth’s “model of innovation.” He described it as the creation of “interdisciplinary structures to promote collaboration, close student-faculty contact, and diffusion of knowledge to effect change." Read more about the president’s speech on the Alumni Relations Website.

Dartmouth Alumni Award Presented to Mary Thomson Renner ’82

This year the Dartmouth Alumni Award went to Mary Thomson Renner ’82 for years of loyal service to her alma mater.

New Horizons: A Vision in Strategy Update: Carol Folt ’78a, Provost, and Paul Argenti, Professor of Communications, Tuck School

Provost Carol Folt ’78a and professor Paul Argenti of the Tuck School jointly presented on how the College is undertaking its strategic planning process on the heels of its reaccreditation. The recent change in leadership presents the perfect opportunity to evaluate where the institution is and where it wants to be in the future. In addition they spoke about how Dartmouth is affected by broader trends such as the general increase in opportunities for quality education throughout the globe. President Kim is looking at the capacity the institution has to change lives and advance leadership. He is looking ahead to the upcoming 250th anniversary and thinking about the next 250 years.

The goal of this current session of strategic planning is to develop an action plan for the next 5-10 years that establishes the vision of the institution and positions it for leadership. The committee for strategic planning wants the process to be inclusive and for participants to be excited about the process. An advisory committee for strategic planning has been formed that includes members from the Thayer School of Engineering, the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth Medical School, and the Arts and Sciences in order to secure participation from all constituencies. Folt and Argenti also said that the committee will use social media to engage alumni to find out what ideas they have for the next 250 years of Dartmouth’s future.

Trustee Presentation: Brad Evans ’64 and Sherri Oberg ’82, ’86Tu

Trustees Evans and Oberg discussed proactive trustee outreach, gave an overview of various construction projects, welcomed new trustee Annette Gordon-Reed ’81 (who has replaced Al Mulley ’70, the new director of the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science) and reported that the College is on track for a balanced budget. The Student Affairs committee is in the process of responding to the Alumni Council’s Ad Hoc Committee to Support Greek Letter Organizations report.

Doing the Math: College Budget Report: Steven Kadish, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Fiscal Year 2010 was the first year in a three-year turnaround. The three main steps in this financial turnaround process were discovery, decision making, and implementation.

Discovery refers to getting the numbers right and having a true understanding of the financial liabilities of the institution. The board is working toward getting all the numbers together and creating a single profit and loss statement.

FY10 results and continued progress against budget improvement goals suggest that the projected budget for FY11 is achievable. The original projected budget gap for FY11 was $54 million. With the FY10 results and assumptions for FY11, the forecast now shows a $2.3 million surplus.

Kadish emphasized the value of improving purchasing power by consolidating vendors. Read his memo to the faculty and staff here for more information on the amount of savings available to the College through savvy purchasing practices.

The College budget committee expanded this past year and has identified opportunities for savings in different procurement categories.

The Board of Trustees wants to get the endowment distribution back to where it’s historically been (4.5-5.0 percent) as quickly as possible. This year it was a little more than 7 percent, but will go down to 5.4 percent for FY11 and will continue to march down over the next couple of years. In addition, by evaluating employee benefits the committee created savings of about $9 million. A 5 percent return on the endowment was projected for FY10. However, the returns were better than forecasted and this flowed through the overall budget.

Committee Reports

The chairs of all committees presented verbal summaries of their respective committee meetings. Full reports on the meetings will be posted on the Alumni Council Website.

Relevant Links

Dean of the College Sylvia Spears on Alcohol Policies

Nominating Committee Report

Alumni Liaison Committee 2009–10 Annual Report to the Dartmouth Board of Trustees

Committee to Support Greek Letter Organizations 2010 Report

Strategic Budget Reduction and Investment

For more information on trustee initiatives, read “Visible and Accessible,” an interview with board chair Steve Mandel ’78, on priorities for the board.

This was the 201st meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council. In 1913, Ernest Martin Hopkins formed the council to guide and support Dartmouth Alumni Relations. The mission of the Alumni Council now is to sustain a fully informed, representative, and engaged exchange of information and sentiment between the alumni and the College, and to enhance and inspire alumni involvement that furthers the mission of the College.

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