For the more than 45,000 alumni around the world, the Alumni Council serves as a vital link to the administration and the College's Board of Trustees.
For instance the Alumni Council is playing an important role in selecting a replacement for departing Trustee Ann Fritz Hackett '76.
"The Alumni Council acts as the official liaison between the College and alumni," said Patricia Fisher-Harris, associate director of alumni relations.
The Council meets twice a year, and its responsibilities include approving alumni projects, nominating alumni trustees and maintaining a working relationship with the Board of Trustees.
It also serves as a sounding board, to get a feel for what alumni think about issues involving the College.
Council President Joel Leavitt '50 said the Council's voice is very important, and he likened it to the input given by students, faculty and administrators.
Former College President Ernest Martin Hopkins founded the Council to guide and direct Dartmouth Alumni Affairs in 1913. Originally composed of 25 members, the body has grown to 108.
The Alumni Council today has members from all areas of the College, including faculty members, undergraduates and representatives from the College's three professional schools.
All alumni members, including class representatives, serve a three-year term.
Jeremy Katz '95 was nominated by his class president last year to serve as a class representative on the Alumni Council. Katz will serve a two-year term, which began this year.
Katz said he delivers a speech to the council when they arrive in Hanover for meetings. He said he hands out student publications like the Beacon, The Dartmouth Review and Spare Rib while fielding questions from the group, in order to re-familiarize them with the College.
The Alumni Council also maintains very close ties to the Board of Trustees. The president and president-elect of the Council sit on most Trustee committees and the Council is responsible for selecting half of the College's 14 Trustees.
Typically, when an Alumni Council spot opens up on the Board of Trustees, the Council solicits nominations from alumni and then presents a list of prospective nominees to the Board of Trustees for consultation to see what kind of representation is needed on the Board.
Fisher-Harris said the council usually receives a pool of 400 to 500 names, which is whittled down to a smaller list by the Council.
The Council then sends ballots to all of the College's alumni. The winner of the election is announced in April, after all of the ballots have been counted.
The three candidates nominated to replace Fritz-Hackett are Roger Aaron '64, Herbert "Barry" Grove '73 and Jonathan Newcomb '68.
Leavitt said the Alumni Council is currently working on improving communication with alumni and with the Board of Trustees and assessing the effectiveness of the Council.
Katz said although there are some areas of the Council he feels are redundant, on the whole the Alumni Council is fairly efficient.
