This weekend's Board of Trustees meeting will feature an interesting twist -- an appearance by New Hampshire Governor and ex-officio Trustee Jeanne Shaheen. It will be the first time Shaheen meets her fellow Trustees since her election last November.
Shaheen is one of only a few New Hampshire governors who have chosen to exercise their right to attend the quarterly Trustee meetings.
The governor of New Hampshire automatically sits on the 16-member Board, though he or she, along with the College president, does not have voting powers.
New Hampshire's chief executive has been a member of the Board since the College charter was approved in 1769.
History Professor Charles Wood said College founder Eleazar Wheelock's inclusion of the state governor on the Board of Trustees was a result of his search to find which colony would provide him with the most assistance in founding a college.
In return for the excellent offer from Governor John Wentworth, Wheelock included the gubernatorial position on the College's Board of Trustees.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees Stephen Bosworth '61 said he was not sure why Shaheen is going to attend today's Trustee meeting, but he hoped it was "her desire to be helpful and maintain the College's high level of excellence."
But College President James Freedman said Shaheen was coming to meet the other Trustees and to "begin to familiarize herself with Dartmouth."
Freedman said this weekend is a good opportunity for Shaheen to get involved with the College early in her tenure as governor, though she is unlikely to get heavily involved in major issues.
Due to time constraints in her schedule, Shaheen will most likely only attend the lunch for Trustees held at the president's house on Friday, Freedman said.
Bosworth said the Board is "delighted" that Shaheen has decided to attend and hopes that she will use this as an opportunity to familiarize herself with "the sorts of particular challenges the College faces."
Shaheen is the highest elected official in the state and therefore has "capabilities and experiences that would be generally useful to the Board," Bosworth said.
Although governors are always invited, very few actually journey to Hanover to attend the Trustee meetings.
Freedman said former Governor John Sununu attended the Trustee meetings frequently, while Judd Gregg attended only one Trustee meeting during his four-year tenure and Stephen Merrill, Shaheen's predecessor, attended none during his four years in office.
Shaheen is originally from St. Charles, Mo. and has lived in New Hampshire for the past 23 years. She earned her bachelor's degree from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania in 1969 and her master's degree from the University of Mississippi in 1973.
Shaheen is the only female Democratic governor in the country and the first female chief executive in New Hampshire history. She was elected to that position in November after serving three terms as a state legislator.
