As two recent alumni of the college who had an opportunity to serve as President Freedman's student interns, we were both pleased and saddened by the announcement that he is stepping down from service at the end of the academic year. Those of us who have spoken with him, worked with him, heard his convocation speeches, or just read about him in The Dartmouth know him as a scholar, family man, dedicated leader, and above all, a sincere individual who has Dartmouth's short- and long-term interests at heart. As a result of these qualities, alumni sometimes describe him as a modern day "hero." As such, we'll miss his constant presence at the helm. Yet to understand what prompts our happiness, it's important to remember what he inherited. Ten years ago, the Dartmouth experience looked and felt different. At a critical crossroads in the 1980s, President Freedman dared to envision an environment rich with learning opportunities.
President Freedman's tenure at Dartmouth began we were making the transition from junior high to high school. At the time, Dartmouth was a nationally reputed college steeped in rich tradition, located in idyllic Hanover, and endowed with talented professors, administrators, and students.
However, in 1987, as we began our journey through PSAT's and the college admissions process, Dartmouth was at a difficult juncture. Faculty were underpaid and overworked, Dartmouth's national rankings in academics were faltering, minority enrollment lagged behind our competitors, and tenured women faculty were scarce. ABC's "20/20" and CBS's "60 Minutes" highlighted the varied bigotries espoused in the Dartmouth Review. Rhodes Scholars from Dartmouth rarely graced Oxford's halls nor did the majority of athletes have the opportunity to compete in a championship match.
President Freedman envisioned a different Dartmouth -- one where the star quarterback was also a gifted mathematician and artists conversed regularly with burgeoning politicians. What's more, he hoped to share his vision with the world beyond Hanover. In the 1990s "Dartmouth" would mean: academic excellence, community, diversity of ideas and people, fertile intellectual ground and creativity, however expressed.
When President Freedman arrived, the Dartmouth experience was narrowly defined. Imagine a student body 60% male, with only three sororities providing social outlets and common space. Imagine graduating classes with not near 20% international student or ethnic minority. Only one woman or minority had ever served as Class President, Vice-President, or on the executive committee of the Student Assembly.
For facilities, imagine no new Psychology, Chemistry, or Mathematics Buildings, the 'old Collis', and dorms not yet wired for BlitzMail, much less cable. The non-supercluster East Wheelock halls had just finished construction, and Tri-Delta sorority members lived in the building where La Casa now operates. There were no La Casa, Amarna, or substance-free residence halls to provide alternative Dartmouth experiences.
Picture a campus where the football team was last in the Ivy League with no promise of improvement. When President Freedman arrived, there were no plans for a Jewish living center, an expanded Baker library, or escort services for women. In academic life, we had the 1940s curriculum, no Koop Institute, no Women in Science Project , EE Just or Presidential Scholars. In short, merely ten years ago, there were fewer choices for Dartmouth students to shape their own Dartmouth experience. And the national press showcased this paucity of opportunities.
Dartmouth needed a vision for the future -- was it the Princeton model, Harvard, Amherst or Williams -- or could we try something uniquely Green? Though many alums thought that President Freedman was trying to "Harvardize" Dartmouth, he saw a future where the job marketplace would demand first and foremost a rigorous training in the liberal arts and classic liberal ideas. Since then, he's set out to meet that challenge by creating an experience that is indeed uniquely Green and envied worldwide.
As two students who were at Dartmouth from 1991-1997, we have witnessed a change both in Dartmouth's national reputation and the kind of environment that exists on campus. Nationally, when the Dartmouth Review's anti-Semitic commentary became news in 1990, President Freedman spoke honestly about the need for students to engage in a classic liberal arts dialogue -- with reason triumphing over hatred. He articulated a vision of creative, thoughtful and engaged students -- which was much maligned by his detractors.
With his leadership and the efforts of the Student Assembly leadership, 3000 students rallied on the green in 1990 and sent a message to the nation that the 1990s Dartmouth was a new and improved institution. Adversity and setback would no longer define Dartmouth. Now, triumph and innovation would reign supreme.
In the years that followed, President Freedman, then Dean of Faculty James Wright, a newly arrived Dean Lee Pelton and other senior administrators succeeded in building a new sense of what the Dartmouth community could be by working with both students and with alumni.
They recognized that students deserved a say in our educational experience. As a result, President Freedman, Dean Pelton, and others like Deans Turco and Sateia hold weekly office hours and are always willing to speak to student groups or help plan student events. It was during our time at Dartmouth that President Freedman spoke to a captivated crowd at Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity and Dean Pelton began to play pick-up basketball with students. Picture that happening at our rival schools! Maybe you didn't see President Freedman at Thayer every day -- but he always has offered an open ear during office hours if you had a problem or concern that you wanted to discuss.
As he guided Dartmouth through a $568 million capital campaign that ended two years ago, we realized that a college president must protect the bottom line by building a solid financial foundation. Our tuition increases remained the lowest in the Ivy-League, we never ran a deficit (as two other Ivies did), and -- most importantly to many of us -- Dartmouth adhered strictly to need-blind financial aid. Those fund-raising efforts allowed Dartmouth to hire more faculty and reduce our class sizes. Through his alumni world tours, he connected with the Collis family, the Montgomery family, the Hoods, the Berrys and the Rockefellers. Our campus is forever better for these efforts.
We rarely had time as students to think about how much tenured professors cost, how much heat residence halls use during the winter (and the fall and the spring), or how to keep alumni loyal to a place that's no longer like it was "when I was at the College." Freedman's public efforts to promote teaching and learning (instead of intense research) led the U.S. News to create a new 'teaching' category in 1996 -- and Dartmouth led the pack. Part of President Freedman's legacy is that he leaves Dartmouth both intellectually and fiscally more prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century -- with alumni donations at an all-time high and an Ivy-caliber administration and faculty who care about students' personal growth. Few, if any, leaders could have done the same.
We also feel compelled to speak about President Freedman's dignity and his sense of modesty about his accomplishments. When we were in high school, and for several years while we were "experiencing Dartmouth," President Freedman faced attacks that few of us will ever encounter, no matter what our profession. Often for weeks on end, segments of our alumni body, a few professors, some students, and especially the Dartmouth Review waged war. They often maligned, and even lied, about President Freedman, his family, his religion, his beliefs, and even his scholarship. He rarely responded directly to these diatribes, preferring to let his actions speak for him. He is an example of decency who we can all admire.
Dartmouth College in 1997 retains much of the rich tradition that drew us to her initially. Undergraduate education is still a priority; our social lives are fuller than ever; the White Mountains and Connecticut River still beckon us; and there's still room to make those mistakes that become teaching moments in our later life.
Yet, the Freedman legacy has expanded the national and local vision of what Dartmouth is, and other administrators, faculty and students have become part of that vision. It can be a leader in undergraduate teaching, alumni giving and student retention rates. It has since produced several Rhodes scholars, many Academic All-American athletes and even NCAA champions. It can be progressive in supporting student academic excellence and allowing students to define their social options and environments. Most importantly, Dartmouth can finally be a place where every last one of the 1080 entering students can call home. So when you see the architect of the modern Dartmouth experience around campus, at football games or other events, take some time out to say hello. Or better yet, say thank you.
Thank you, President Freedman.
