Looking back on two years at the helm of the College, 14 months of which were marked by polls, protests and fireside chats, President James Wright spoke to The Dartmouth yesterday about his reign so far and his vision for the future.
"I think I'm having a wonderful time. Things are going well," Wright said. "I think we have initiated a number of terribly important things."
Still, Wright acknowledged that the initial release of the Trustees' Five Principles report last February did not go over as well as planned.
"Obviously, we got off to a rocky start," he said. "I'm a historian, and historians know that you can't redo the things you've done."
Despite this, Wright admitted some regret, "I think there are things we might have done differently."
"But we've had some good discussions," he said. "The students have stepped up to this in very creative ways."
Last year, the primary source of opposition to the Five Principles clearly was from the Greek system and its supporters who feared the eradication of the over-150 year institution.
Wright has voiced his concerns about aspects of the Greek system on numerous occasions during his many years at the College, but yesterday, he was markedly vague on subject.
"It would not be a time for me to get into that," Wright told The Dartmouth.
Wright declined to comment further on the future of the Greek system, citing the upcoming Board of Trustees meetings, including some this weekend, that will most likely determine the fate of the Greeks.
Wright said although the Trustees are meeting this weekend and could theoretically make decisions, he doubts any final reports will be released until further talks have been held.
"It's hard to predict where the Board will be this weekend, but, certainly, they will be taking action this spring," he said.
He also said that the Trustees will be taking into account the steering committee report, the Student Response Task Force report, and student and faculty opinions but "they are not going to vote on a set of details as comprehensive as the Student Life Initiative."
He also said the Board will be examining the Student Assembly's recommendations and poll but, despite the high numbers of student voter turnout and approval, said, "It can't be a poll or a vote that determines what the Board does."
On the anticipated release of the Trustees' final report, Wright said, "I think that we've talked generally about how we would release the report as quickly as possible."
"It's a little early for me to say," he qualified.
When asked what he most wants the Initiative to accomplish, Wright said, "I think trying to deal with developing a great sense of continuity in the social and residential of the College."
He said that the often frequent turn-over of students in residence halls from term to term primarily contributes to what he sees as discontinuity in student life.
"I don't think that we need to have a situation where students are in and out," Wright said.
He also acknowledged the impact of the D-plan on the discontinuity but said that the issue is too large for any changes to be made soon, though discussions have been occurring and will continue to occur for some time.
He said he thinks there should be enough residence halls for all students who wish to live on campus and additional social spaces in residence halls which could mean losing some rooms.
Wright said he hopes to strengthen the research capacity and improve the academic life of the College as well in an effort to continue competitively recruiting high-caliber students.
"Our key responsibility is to maintain the strength and quality of the students that are here," he said. "I'm very pleased with the student body."
"There are different types of changes that need to be made to enrich the opportunities. These things take time," Wright said. "I think that we should start moving very quickly on this."
And Wright said he plans on being here for the implementation of these changes.
"I'm going to stay [president] for quite awhile," he said. "I'm very much enjoying the challenge."
