Close to 60 percent of the College's faculty of arts and sciences has signed a petition supporting a full four-year term for Provost James Wright, just weeks after Wright announced he would step down on June 30, 1998 amid controversy that he was appointed without due process.
Religion Professor Hans Penner, one of the organizers of the petition, said the document reads: "We the undersigned strongly support James Wright's nomination for the position of provost."
Penner and four faculty members began circulating the petition shortly after Wright announced his intention to resign, effective next July.
Originally, the five professors -- Penner, Physics Professor Michael Sturge, German Professor Bruce Duncan, History Professor Richard Kremer and History Professor Mary Kelley -- simply went from office to office, explaining their goal to as many members of the faculty as would listen.
According to Penner, the five came up with a "simple statement that faculty members could sign if they wanted to, and before we knew it ... we got over 200 faculty signatures."
In an interview with The Dartmouth yesterday, Wright said he was "gratified to learn about the time and effort people were putting into this petition."
It was just last month when Wright informed College President James Freedman that he would not continue as Provost past next June, citing criticism from faculty members that he was appointed inappropriately by Freedman in August.
"I was surprised that some of my colleagues were doing this to me," Wright said of the faculty complaints.
But the petition -- which the faculty plan to present to the chair of the provost search committee, whenever he or she is named -- represents a strong show of support for Wright to be able to serve a full four-year term as provost.
Wright said he has been impressed with the "aggressive determination" of the petition's signers.
The controversy over Wright's appointment stems from a College policy change in 1988, which changed the role of the provost and also gave the faculty more of a say in how the position would be filled.
Freedman's decision to bypass a search committee in appointing Wright violated these guidelines, though there are varying interpretations as to whether this is permitted under extenuating circumstances.
In a letter to the faculty dated Sept. 8, Freedman said he deeply regretted Wright's resignation, but said he had made the unusually speedy appointment in order to retain "the experience and continuity that Jim Wright could provide" -- especially given the College's search for a new Dartmouth Medical School dean and Thayer School of Engineering dean.
"While I have consistently resisted making exceptions to our normal search procedures, this seemed to me one of those rare situations where such action was plainly in Dartmouth's best interests," Freedman wrote to the faculty.
In his letter of resignation to Freedman, Wright took issue with members of the faculty who believe the normal search process for a provost cannot be waived -- even under special circumstances -- but said he would nonetheless resign to prevent "a contentious argument within the faculty."
Those who support Wright cite his experience at the College and his service to the faculty and administration since 1969.
Now, with Freedman also recently announcing his resignation, effective next summer, many worry the College will be left with inexperienced administrators occupying the two most powerful offices in Parkhurst.
The Provost is the chief academic officer and is responsible for everything from the College library and computing systems to overseeing the three graduate schools.
Kremer said that he supports Wright for the position because of the importance of continuity at an academic institution. "It would seem hard to me to do a provost search with the presidency up in the air," he added.
But even with the overwhelming support of Wright among faculty, other problems still exist.
It is hard to tell exactly what the petition will change in the minds of the search committee, and Wright has already urged the College to look for a successor in his office.
"I have made my decision, and I'm not in a position to forecast what will happen from now," Wright said.
Wright's current plan is to take a sabbatical at the end of the academic year, with the idea of researching and writing in the field of history.
"I still fancy myself as a historian, so I would like to get back into my field," Wright said.
He said he eventually plans on resuming what he started doing here 28 years ago -- teaching history.
Other professors said that Wright may very well not serve past next June 30 -- even if the search committee eventually invites him to.
"Wright has taken himself out of it and he might not want to step back in," Physics and Astronomy Professor Robert Fesen said.
Many cite this as an unfortunate event that did not have to occur -- especially since those who objected to Wright's appointment did not have problems with Wright, but with the way Freedman chose him.
"The way it was done made things complicated. It made Wright feel he was not wanted, but that was not true. He may be the best candidate but it was just a mistake of formality," Fesen said.
