The Dartmouth Club of Greater Boston
The Dartmouth Club of Greater Boston
Report from the 201st
Alumni Council Meeting
December 2-4, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.”
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.
This year the Dartmouth Alumni Award went to Mary Thomson Renner
’82 for years of loyal service to her alma mater.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.