The College's Board of Trustees will vote this weekend at its annual April meeting on the Reserve Officer Training Corps program's future and on a proposal to create a new comparative literature graduate program.
Cheryl Reynolds, the Board's secretary, said the Trustees will consider the ROTC issue in one of their closed executive meetings this weekend. The Board's agenda is always confidential, she said, but some agenda items are standard fare or are evident because they have been developing for some time.
The Trustee Committee on Development, Alumni and Public Affairs met last night and the Committee on Student Affairs will meet this afternoon, College Spokesman Alex Huppe said.
The Committee on Development, Alumni and Public Affairs oversees the College's $425 million Will to Excel capital campaign.
Associate Dean of Students Barbara Strohbehn said the Trustees' meeting will also center on facilitating conversation between students and the Board.
The Trustees will meet with students three times during the weekend: at the traditional Saturday breakfast in the Hanover Inn, as part of the Committee on Student Affairs and at a dinner Friday night.
The ROTC debate focuses on an interpretation of whether the program, specifically its policy regarding gays in the military, is in accordance with Dartmouth's Principle of Equal Opportunity.
The College's policy states: "Dartmouth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran in its programs, organizations, and conditions of employment or admission."
In Sept. 1991, the Trustees said the College would discontinue ROTC unless the U.S. Defense Department lifted the military's ban on homosexuals.
Encouraged by President Bill Clinton's pledge to remove the ban, the Board, at its meeting in January 1993, decided to extend the deadline until this spring.
The Trustees will now consider whether the military's new "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allows gays to serve but requires them to keep their homosexuality secret, complies with College policy. They are expected to reach a final decision this weekend.
The Trustee's meeting comes seven weeks after the Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted overwhelmingly to support the dissolution of ROTC at Dartmouth.
In addition, the Dartmouth Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Organization and the Coalition for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Concerns have also urged the Trustees to discontinue ROTC. But the Student Assembly has called for the program's continuation.
Also on the agenda will be a proposal for a new comparative literature master's program, Huppe said. The proposal, which Dean of Faculty Jim Wright will present, was approved by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences a little over a year ago.
Wright could not be reached for comment.
Some Trustees will also hear Dean of the College Lee Pelton's report to COSA, a 26- person committee on which nine of the 16 Trustees serve. Pelton will report on the Committee on First Year Students' progress.
No recommendations will be made, Pelton said.
Pelton's committee, created last term, is comprised of 12 administrators, six professors and 13 students. His committee will examine various aspects of the freshman year, including residential life, intellectual life and orientation programs.
As part of the First Year Committee presentation, the Trustees will meet with administrators, faculty and 23 students for dinner tonight.
Student Assembly President Nicole Artzer '94 will also address COSA. She said she will "discuss a review of what the Student Assembly has accomplished this year." The Assembly's report on ROTC will be included in her presentation.
Artzer said she will not focus on the Greek system. Instead, she plans to concentrate on broader community issues such as the need for more social options, a greater emphasis on community and funding for campus publications.
Assembly Vice President-elect Rukmini Sichitiu '95 will attend the meeting with Artzer. President-elect Danielle Moore '95 will be out of town for the weekend, Artzer said.
Dartmouth Medical School Dean Andrew Wallace will speak to the Trustees about how health insurance reform will affect the future of academic medicine, Huppe said.
In addition, Wright and Associate Dean of Faculty Karen Wetterhahn will lead an informative session on sciences at the College. Huppe said they will discuss trends in higher education and costs involved in teaching science courses.
The Board's Nominations Committee is expected to approve the appointment of Peter Fahey '68 as a College Trustee. Alumni nominated Fahey last week to fill the position vacated by Robert Danziger '56. Huppe said Fahey would not be present this weekend.
The Trustees will also discuss the re-election of Hanover Inn's overseers and consider professors for various departmental chairs, Huppe said.
