At its spring meeting this past weekend, the Board of Trustees made no major decisions but did focus on social life at the College and the plans for the proposed Berry Library, according to Chairman Stephen Bosworth '61.
Bosworth said the weekend's discussions focused on normal business and events and that no major decisions were made.
College President and ex-officio Trustee James Freedman said the Board "shared its perspectives on the Greek system" and also discussed other social options.
Along these lines, Dean of the College Lee Pelton's Social Life Task Force presented a report of their findings to the Board, according to Trustee William King '63.
Bosworth said the Greek system's dominance of student social life, which has long been an issue on campus, has important implications to the College as a whole. He said this influence may not be beneficial.
The Trustees discussed possible "broader control of the social life of students" by increasing alternatives to the Greek system, King said.
The Board also had an "extended discussion" on the plans for the new Berry Library, an extension of the existing Baker Library, Freedman said.
Construction of the library will probably begin next spring, according to Freedman.
Although considered a major problem by many students, the current financial difficulties faced by the Dartmouth Dining Services and the possibility of an $800 non-refundable Declining Balance Account meal plan were not addressed by the Trustees, Bosworth said.
He said the DDS issue is too small to be dealt with by the Trustees, who generally deal with major budgeting and development decisions, rather than administrative issues such as DDS.
King said although DDS is a "big issue," the Trustees are not likely to act on it.
"We have an ongoing discussion of a lot of these issues," King said, "but no final decisions were made [this weekend]. We just keep up to date on what is going on."
King said the Trustees also discussed the troublesome rise in tuition costs over recent years and possible "ways to curtail that."
Besides discussion of College issues, the Board also attended to some internal housekeeping -- formally approving the election of new alumni Trustee Nancy Kepes Jeton '76, and re-electing Trustees Susan Dentzer '77 and Stanford Roman '64 to each serve second five-year terms, according to a College press release.
The Trustees also appointed four members of the faculty -- English Professor Willliam Spengemann, Economics Professor Joshua Aizenman, History Professor Pamela Crossley and Earth Sciences Professor C. Page Chamberlain -- as endowed chairs.
In addition, the Board approved tenure awards to Computer Science Professor David Kotz, Biology Professor Mark McPeek and Economics Professor Douglas Irwin, according to the press release.
