It is not often that we receive blitzes from President James O. Freedman at four o'clock in the morning. The thinly veiled "special announcement" signaled a major transition on campus in the coming hours. We would learn the name of Freedman's successor, Dartmouth's sixteenth president.
I attended the meeting in Alumni Hall with an expectation that the announcement would be a sort of bombshell. I assumed that I would be thrilled, disappointed or at least do what as educated people we are trained to do -- have an opinion.
But when the announcement came, all the gasps and clapping peculiarly contrasted with my underlying ambivalent feeling of, "Oh, James Wright."
It was impossible not to feel an initial disappointment that we would not be getting an exciting new unknown quantity. Freedman's ability to enter the scene and take Dartmouth from the status quo towards a more intellectual, culturally-interesting place enabled me as a creative, curious female to even consider attending. The immediate precedent equates an infusion of change with largely positive new directions.
Wright has been at Dartmouth for 30 years, most recently serving as provost. For the majority of students who are administratively unaware, myself included, administration means parking tickets and Dining Services. Most of us barely know what a provost is, much less what Wright has done in that capacity and the issues he stands for.
For that reason, everyone in Alumni Hall was hanging on every word said by and about him. This vacuum at the top is an unsettling transition, and we would all like a quick answer to the bottom-line question -- "Will James Wright be a good president?"
As Trustee Bill King spoke about Wright, he presented a composite background through details. Wright is a historian, author of a number of books. "Great!" I thought. I am a history major who likes to write.
Then King told us that Wright wrote a book on Republican reformers in New Hampshire. "Oh no! He's conservative?" My pendulum swung to the negative. All in a matter of 15 seconds.
I listened very closely as Wright got up to speak, but I also started hearing whispered comments from the packed crowd in the back of Alumni Hall.
As King announced that Wright received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin, much to my shock, a member of the faculty indiscreetly and pejoratively whispered to her companion, "State school!" Likewise, later in the Thayer lobby, I heard a student make the comment, "We go from Harvard to University of Wisconsin at Platteville?" I also saw a student glance at a headline on a flyer and immediately say, "Research university? You've got to be kidding me!"
To the other end, I've heard praise for Wright because he used a funny quote from Yogi Berra at the beginning of his speech and because he devoted 20 seconds to financial aid. Is that grounds for praise any more than his alma matter is reason for contempt?
We all want quick answers, and we want to either endorse Wright, dislike him or be solidly apathetic. I spoke with a tenured professor shortly after the meeting, and I assumed since she has known Wright for years, that she would have the facts and be able to give me THE answer. "Is he a good choice?" I asked very simply.
Her response was to nod in the affirmative, scrunch her face in thought and make indecisive hand gestures. While she was positive, she was also perfectly correct in her next comment. "It isn't that easy."
Wright ended his speech by talking very earnestly about his optimism and hope for a promising future. He presented his optimism to us and rather than judging him by lone issues, I feel we owe him that positive hope in return.
I hope when he discussed his goal of an open community "not demeaning women, not demeaning anyone," that he acknowledges Dartmouth's ghost of integration past and will actively delve into the problematic buzzwords of "diversity" and "community" without merely batting them around.
I hope that in his commitment to "the values of institutions" and keeping Dartmouth "true to its principles," he will not fear to apply change where it is needed, because, inevitably, it will always be needed somewhere.
I hope he can enhance the graduate programs without sacrificing the singular undergraduate experience.
I hope that despite being an administrative veteran, he sticks by his statement of having "no interest in inertia," keeping in mind that more effort along familiar paths can be as futile as stagnation itself.
And above all, I hope we as a community of students, faculty and alumni give him the respect and support he needs to make his initiatives successful. Good programs and open dialogue are every bit as much our responsibility as his.
If nothing more, Wright deserves the benefit of the doubt. Because right now, everything he spoke of is entirely possible.
James Wright, welcome to the Presidency of Dartmouth College. I, for one, look forward to your promising future.
