Alumni elected Peter Fahey '68, Th'70, a former partner at a leading international investment banking firm, to the Board of Trustees, the College announced yesterday.
Fahey, 47, recently retired from Goldman, Sachs & Co. as head of its corporate finance division after 15 years at the firm. He will fill the Trustee space vacated by Robert Danziger '56, who steps down in June.
"I am thrilled to be involved in setting the future for the College," Fahey said last night in a telephone interview from his home in Port Washington, N.Y. "The College means a lot for me as a graduate and a person very involved since then."
Currently, Fahey is a member of Thayer School of Engineering's Board of Overseers and is the father of two current Dartmouth students and a recent graduate.
The chairman of the Board of Trustees said Fahey has the perspective both of a graduate and someone very attuned with today's Dartmouth, which will be invaluable to the Board.
"I enthusiastically welcome Fahey to the Board," Chairman E. John Rosenwald said. "He brings with him a lot of Dartmouth involvement. He'll hit the ground running."
Fahey ran against Michael Keeshan '73, T'75 and Gary Love '76 on ballots sent out in March to alumni after the College's Alumni Council nominated the three at its January meeting. Ballots mailed in by the April 1st deadline were tallied by the Association of Dartmouth Alumni early this week.
"I think I bring business experience and a love for the College," Fahey said. "I bring a variety of perspectives from members of my family who have gone to the school."
Thayer Dean Charles Hutchinson, who has worked with Fahey, said the new Trustee would be extremely committed to the Board and to the College since he recently resigned as general manager of Goldman Sachs to become a limited partner.
In his ballot, Fahey stressed the importance of the Greek system.
"Dartmouth should also continuously improve the quality of the total personal experience it provides," Fahey wrote in his statement to alumni on the ballots. "It should do so by constructive new approaches, not by negatively seeking to destroy established institutions such as fraternities."
Last night, Fahey said, "Fraternities and sororities can play a positive role in the Dartmouth experience." He added that something should be done about giving women more opportunities to join a sorority and that more social opportunities should be provided.
While an undergraduate, Fahey competed on the basketball and track teams.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1969 and his master's in 1970 from the College's Thayer School of Engineering, Fahey joined Abcor Inc. as a scientist studying membrane separation. After rising to the position of manager of manufacturing, he went to Harvard Business School, where he received the highest distinction upon graduation.
He joined Goldman Sachs in 1975. He was named vice president in 1978 and a general partner four years later.
Fahey worked with Rosenwald on the College's Will to Excel Campaign, the $425-million capital drive, as a member of the Major Gifts Committee.
"I have had the pleasure of working with him on the capital campaign," Rosenwald said after he spoke at a Senior Symposium panel yesterday in Collis Common Ground. "He is a very effective member of that committee."
College administrators who know Fahey said he brings keen financial skills, commitment and rational and disciplined thinking to the board of 16, of which seven are elected by alumni.
Alumni Council President Kurt Welling, who has known Fahey since they were brothers at Phi Delta Alpha fraternity together, said, "It's hard to imagine anyone better qualified given his attributes."
"I would be surprised if he had a going-in view about fraternities other than that students have to be allowed to define which social system is appropriate," Welling said. "He's a person who understands the importance of reaching a consensus."
Rosenwald thanked the three candidates and added, "the alumni had great choices for a new trustee."
Fahey needs to be confirmed by the Trustees who arrive in Hanover for their Spring-term meeting next week. Association of Dartmouth Alumni President Gordon Williamson said the Board has never refused the choice of alumni.
Fahey and his wife, Helen, live on Long Island with their 9-year-old daughter. Their other daughter, Kimberly, graduated in 1992 and their two sons, Peter, Jr. and Michael, are currently a senior and freshman, respectively.
