Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of College President James Freedman's inaugural address and his 10 years of refocusing on intellectualism.
Although his presidency has been highlighted by a successful capital campaign raising over $586 million, the construction of new facilities and an increase in women and minority students, in a recent interview with The Dartmouth, Freedman was modest when discussing his impact on the College.
Freedman said his 10 years only represent four percent of the College's history. "What Dartmouth is is also the 96 percent for which other people are responsible," he said. "You stand on the shoulders of your predecessors."
In his inaugural address, Freedman set goals of increasing the College's emphasis on academics and diversity, and most faculty members said he has met his goals to some degree.
A new atmosphere
Before Freedman came to the College, it was associated with "Animal House" -- not the image the search committee for the replacement of College President David McLaughlin wanted.
Norman McCulloch '50, who was chairman of the Board of Trustees and of the search committee, said this was one of the committee's reasons for choosing Freedman, who is known for his love of reading and learning.
"The Board felt we needed to refocus on what we're in the business for," McCulloch said.
McCulloch said when he presented Freedman to the committee in 1987, "it was the best job I've ever done for the College."
Freedman accomplished the "not-so-subtle shift" to academics through his own intellectual abilities and the goals he has emphasized since his inaugural address, he said.
"We must emphasize the importance of creating new bonds between undergraduate education and professional preparation, new opportunities for synthesis between liberal education and advanced research," Freedman said in his address on July 19, 1987.
One of Freedman's major tasks was the first comprehensive overhaul of the Dartmouth curriculum in more than 70 years -- the 1993 revision of Dartmouth degree requirements.
Changes to academic programs and departments have also highlighted Freedman's ten years.
Among the many changes, the College has made women's studies a major, created new programs in linguistics, cognitive science and Latin American and Caribbean studies and created The Institute for Life-Long Education as a link between Dartmouth and the Upper Valley.
Freedman said he is also proud the creation of new opportunities for students to work with faculty, including the Woman in Science Program, Presidential Scholars Program, E. E. Just Program and the Mellon Fellowship.
In the fall of 1996, the East Wheelock Cluster was dedicated to integrating academic experiences with other aspects of student life by increasing student and faculty interaction.
Improving the College's faculty was another item on Freedman's inaugural agenda.
"As this college approaches the 21st century, we will need to continue to attract to our faculty men and women who are distinguished scholars and extraordinary teachers," he said in his address.
As a result of Freedman's efforts, Dartmouth was ranked number one in 1995 for its commitment to undergraduate teaching by the presidents, provosts and deans of admission of colleges and universities nationwide in US News and World Report.
"There really has been a night and day change between the previous administration and this one," History Professor Pamela Crossley said. "There has been a marked change in that the faculty as professional scholars have a sense of audience with President Freedman."
Freedman said his administration has appointed about half of the College's faculty, and it is an "exceptional group of people."
Students also feel encouraged by the environment Freedman has created.
In his inaugural address, Freedman said, "We must make Dartmouth a more hospitable environment for students who march to a different drummer, for those creative loners and daring dreamers."
Freedman has modified the College's environment so that "students are not so apologetic about being interested in learning," Classics Professor Edward Bradley said
Crossley said Freedman's progress as president has been marked by the achievement of a more capable student and faculty body.
"By his style he impresses people with his appreciation for academic achievement," Crossley said.
A number of much-needed new academic and student facilities have also been built, including the Burke laboratory, Sudikoff Laboratory, Byrne Hall and the Collis Student Center. In planning or under construction are Berry Library, the Roth Center for Jewish Life and Moore Hall, the new psychology building. Renovation of Webster Hall is also under way.
A thick stew
In 1988 Freedman said he wanted to attract students to form a "rich brew, a thick stew with a lot of taste and flavor and spice."
The admissions statistics show he is achieveing that stew.
Freedman's first freshman class was 38 percent women and 18 percent minorities, while the Class of 2001 is 49 percent women and 25.6 percent minorities. The Class of 1999 was the first class in Dartmouth's history to have more women than men.
Diversity has been achieved in Dartmouth admissions in another area -- intellectualism.
"Dartmouth has always attracted students with high SAT scores," McCulloch said. "But it had often missed out on those people who focused on areas not so traditional."
Computer Professor Scot Drysdale said Freedman made the College "a more welcoming place to students who do not fit the standard Dartmouth image of 'work hard, play hard.'"
As a result of the welcoming atmosphere, more students are applying to Dartmouth than ever. For the Class of 2000, Dartmouth received its highest number of undergraduate applications ever -- approximately 11, 400.
Freedman said he is pleased by the quality of the incoming classes. "We've just attracted a wonderful pool of applicants," he said.
In 1988 Freedman lashed out at The Dartmouth Review when it threatened the welcoming atmosphere.
In the Oct. 3, 1988 issue of The Review, the "Review Credo" had two clauses from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," which the editors said were accidental.
"For 10 years, The Dartmouth Review has consistently attacked blacks because they're blacks, women because they're women, homosexuals because they're homosexuals and Jews because they're Jews," Freedman said at the time.
Most faculty members were pleased with Freedman's response to the incident.
English Professor Don Pease said Freedman's statements to The Review were an "ethical turning point" in the College's history. The Review "had failed to make room" for diverse students, he said.
But English Professor Emeritus and The Review contributor Jeffrey Hart said Freedman's remarks were "all lies." He said Freedman said in a recent article in the New York Times that his denouncement of The Review was a "golden moment."
"I'd like to see what else his career has amounted to," Hart said.
A president's challenges
Although Freedman's term has been successful, there were many hurdles he had overcome and ones he continues to face.
"Your reach exceeds your grasp and of course there are disappointments along the way," Freedman said.
One roadblock was Freedman's history as a graduate of Harvard University. He is Dartmouth's first president since 1822 with no prior connection to the College.
When Freedman came to the College, there was a "crude, popular prejudice" among alumni that he would make the College more like Harvard, Bradley said.
History Professor Jere Daniell said Freedman has emphasized undergraduate education and challenged this preconception.
He said one of the most important events was a decision made in 1967 by the faculty clearly defining the difference between graduate and undergraduate education.
Also, faculty members have criticized Freedman's lack of interaction with the Dartmouth community.
Wood said Freedman is not a "terribly extroverted human being."
His apparent aloofness from the student body has led some to believe he does not care about students, but this is "wildly untrue," Wood said.
Wood said one of Freedman's problems is being compared to former presidents like John Sloan Dickey, who had a much different leadership style.
"John Dickey used to come out of Parkhurst to help build the Winter Carnival statue," Wood said. "You couldn't possibly imagine Freedman doing this."
Drysdale said former College presidents John Kemeny and McLaughlin were also "more intimately involved" in the College's daily operations.
But Drysdale said Freedman does become involved in areas of particular interest to him, such as graduation requirements and fundraising.
Daniell said Freedman's leadership style is a good one.
Freedman created a "modern university structure by creating a chief executive officer," the provost, to whom the different schools composing the College all report, he said.
Some faculty members, like Crossley, said Freedman has not met some of his goals.
"The ideals he has established in terms of standards of accomplishment for the faculty have not yet been realized," she said.
Bradley said Freedman was "not judicious in the senior appointments" he has made, and he believes the choice of Lee Bollinger as provost was "calamitous." He said Bollinger only came to the College because he was awaiting the presidency at the University of Michigan.
Freedman also had to cope with a bout with lymphoma during his presidency. In January 1995, he had surgery to remove a testicular tumor and went on a six-month sabbatical.
"It suggests mortality to you," Freedman said. "Now you think more about how you want to spend your time."
