When then College President David McLaughlin '54 resigned in 1987, cutting his term short by his own choice, many people on campus felt McLaughlin was leaving Hanover with a bad taste in his mouth.
But McLaughlin has other feelings on his departure. In a recent telephone interview from his office in Maryland, where he now is the chief executive officer of the Aspen Institute, McLaughlin said he has very few regrets about his time as College President.
"My affection for the College is as great today as it ever was," said McLaughlin, who served as Dartmouth's 14th president from 1981 to 1987. "I have a great attachment to it and a great affection for it."
In October 1986, McLaughlin announced his decision to step down from his office the following July, after six-and-a-half turbulent years on the job.
Now, more than eight years after ceding his job to current College President James Freedman, McLaughlin is comfortable and happy at the Aspen Institute, an extended liberal arts program for national and world leaders. However, McLaughlin is still admittedly very much interested in the affairs of Dartmouth.
And, as Freedman pointed out in a recent interview, McLaughlin is the only living former College president and thus a very important figure in Dartmouth lore.
Staying close with Dartmouth
Some people may believe McLaughlin would be bitter toward Dartmouth after a turbulent presidency of less than seven years, a presidency marked by massive College expansion and frequent clashes with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
But considering he was a football star at Dartmouth from 1951-53, a successful and active alumnus, a member of the College Board of Trustees from 1971-81, chairman of the Board from 1977-81 and College president from 1981-87, McLaughlin said it is difficult to feel anything but love for the institution that has so dominated his life.
Even today, McLaughlin said he tries to stay informed about the course the College is taking.
"I try to stay close to [Dartmouth]," he said. "I don't think the College ever leaves your consciousness in terms of your emotional attachment to it. The Aspen experience has sharpened my view of the need for very good liberal art institutions like Dartmouth to contribute to the development of leaders in this society."
McLaughlin added, "I know generally what's happening, although I can't say I know every issue on the campus at any given time because there are always many."
McLaughlin said he used to routinely speak to Freedman but those conversations have tapered off through the years.
"Throughout the [Will to Excel Capital] Campaign, I've tried to be helpful, but I think there's a well-respected tradition in the College that presidents don't try to interfere in their successors' administrations," he said.
"I clearly wouldn't do that," McLaughlin said. "If I felt strongly about an issue I wouldn't hesitate to talk to [Freedman] about it, but I wouldn't engage in any kind of political involvement in any way."
Freedman, although unable to remember the last time he spoke to McLaughlin, said the former president has always been "most cordial in speaking with me, and he continues to be very devoted to the College."
"Certainly, what he has gone on to do at the Aspen Institute has been a wonderful achievement," Freedman added.
Reflections on the presidency
While McLaughlin had many positive accomplishments during his seven years as president, he will probably be best remembered for his tenuous relationship with the faculty.
One of McLaughlin's strengths was experience in business, having come to the College from his job as president and chief operating officer of the Toro Manufacturing Corporation of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Under McLaughlin's presidency, the College endowment skyrocketed from $220 million in 1981 to $520 million in October 1986 and the Dartmouth Plan was redefined to include the Sophomore Summer residency requirement.
McLaughlin's presidency also left many tangible marks on the campus. The construction of the East Wheelock cluster, the Hood Museum and the Berry Sports Center all occurred during McLaughlin's tenure. Perhaps McLaughlin's greatest accomplishment was the relocation of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center from the north side of campus to Lebanon.
McLaughlin said he views these accomplishments with a "shared pride," and as institutional achievements rather than personal ones.
But McLaughlin's strength in business proved to be his downfall with the faculty, who regarded him as a businessman rather than an intellectual. McLaughlin frequently fought with the faculty, especially regarding the issue of the Reserve Officers Training Corps on campus.
In March 1985, McLaughlin and the Board of Trustees sanctioned the ROTC program on campus despite two separate votes by the faculty stating their opposition to the program.
The faculty reacted negatively to McLaughlin's decision and 52 professors signed a letter warning a leadership crisis could develop. The faculty then called for the creation of an ad-hoc committee on the governance of the College.
The committee's report was sharply critical of McLaughlin's leadership. In the spring of 1986, the faculty entertained the notion of giving McLaughlin a vote of no confidence, although no such vote ever took place.
Faculty members frequently criticized McLaughlin's "corporate style" of leadership. They cited his lack of experience in academia -- McLaughlin did not have a Ph.D. -- and his perceived disregard of faculty opinions.
But now, almost 10 years removed that debate, McLaughlin said he does not regret the decision to institute ROTC, though he admitted "some of it could have been handled better."
McLaughlin also said he did not mind the criticism from the faculty, commenting, "I think it goes with the turf. I think that's part of the nature of an academic enterprise."
Faculty members remember McLaughlin as a president who cared deeply about Dartmouth, but said the ROTC debate was a major turning point in his relations with the faculty.
Religion Professor Hans Penner, who was Dean of the Faculty during McLaughlin's presidency, said McLaughlin was very supportive of the faculty, but the disagreement over ROTC "soured" the relationship.
"It was downhill from then on," Penner said. "In a way, it was unfortunate because the man really had the faculty at heart and had a deep commitment to the College as a past chairman of the board and as an alum."
History Professor Charles Wood called McLaughlin a "terribly nice person" who was "absolutely committed to Dartmouth and the whole idea of a liberal education."
Wood said McLaughlin's "blind spot" was that "he really didn't always understand exactly how an institution like Dartmouth functioned, and how the faculty was to be led was something that caused him a problem."
McLaughlin said he does not regret his decision to resign after a relatively short tenure, because he felt he had reached his limitations by the beginning of his sixth year as president.
"Every time you make a hard decision at a place like Dartmouth, you give up a piece of your authority or use a piece of your personal capital," McLaughlin said. "I felt that at the end of six-and-a-half years, I had used up most of the capital I had. I was proud of what the College had accomplished during that period of time, but I felt it was time to leave."
McLaughlin announced his resignation on Oct. 7, 1986, but did not leave the College until July. Immediately following his departure, McLaughlin joined the Aspen Institute, where he has served as both the president and chairman of the board for the past eight years.
According to its own homepage on the World Wide Web, the Aspen Institute is an independent, nonprofit educational organization that holds nonpartisan seminars and policy programs designed for leaders in business, government, the media, education and the independent sector from democratic societies worldwide.
McLaughlin said the hallmark of the Aspen Institute, which recently celebrated its 45th birthday, is the seminars. "People convene around Aspen Institute tables to look at relevant issues of today, but to do it in the context of the values of society, both as they existed and in a changing international system," he said.
