Alumni reaction was muted Thursday after College President James Wright responded to recent controversy between the athletic department and the Admissions Office in an online broadcast Wednesday night. Wright urged upset alumni viewers to continue making contributions to the College in the midst of the current capital campaign.
The 88-minute broadcast gave Wright, Athletics Director Josie Harper and new Head Football Coach Eugene "Buddy" Teevens '79 a chance to address the controversial comments made by Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg in a 2000 letter supporting Swarthmore's decision to cut its football program.
During the webcast, which was sponsored by the Alumni Council and geared mainly toward Dartmouth graduates, Wright acknowledged the negative reaction to the letter by some alumni.
"I think people are hurt and angry. I know that experience, and I had it four years ago -- the anger part," Wright said, adding that he demonstrated that anger to Furstenberg in repeated meetings.
Carey Heckman '76 of the Alumni Council's athletics committee said he appreciated the administration's effort to reach out to disgruntled alumni.
"I was particularly impressed they were willing to do this kind of outreach instead of just ignoring people," Heckman said. "That was pretty smart."
Heckman, who watched the webcast partly because of his role among the alumni leadership, said he was not surprised by what Wright, Harper and Teevens had to say about Dartmouth athletics.
"The people said the things I would expect them to say," Heckman said, adding that he "broke out laughing" at some of their comments, including the idea that football players are as academically successful as their peers based on statistics of high graduation rates.
"What a stupid measure. That has nothing to do [with academic achievement]," Heckman said.
Most alumni interviewed by The Dartmouth, however, did not watch the webcast, although they thought it was a good idea.
"The dean of admissions had made some pretty compromising statements that made people pretty unhappy," Josiah Stevenson '57 Tu'58 said. "It was addressing some of the issues pertaining to Dartmouth athletics and administration."
Although Stevenson is a representative of the planned giving association of the Alumni Council, he did not watch the webcast. Neither did Rob Daisley '80, who has posted his reactions to the controversy on a weblog for disgruntled alumni. For them and many other alumni, the webcast was just not a high enough priority.
Wright, however, addressed alumni concerns as he continued to express support for the embattled admissions chief, reiterating that the recently publicized letter was "private" and did not change the way Furstenberg performs his job.
"It is clear that Karl hadn't done anything to implement those views [from the letter]," Wright said. "Had he publicly challenged what it is we're doing, I think it would have been a different matter."
Wright encouraged people to move past the letter and said alumni should not use the decision of whether or not to donate to the College's annual fund as a way to express their displeasure over the incident.
"We didn't impose a referendum on you every term," Wright said.
The panelists also answered other e-mail questions submitted before and during the discussion Wednesday, including concerns about how many football players leave Dartmouth because of its losing record, how much of the College's $1.3 billion capital campaign is devoted to athletics and whether football players are socially insulated from other students.
Harper acknowledged that the attrition rate of football players is higher than she wants it to be but said it is reasonable, while Wright said the College raises funds in other ways besides the capital campaign, which devotes only about 2 percent of its fundraising goal specifically to athletics. Teevens said there are plans to get football players out helping with the ice sculpture for Winter Carnival to interact with more of their fellow students.
On the matter of admissions, Wright estimated some 70 to 80 percent of prospective Dartmouth players recommended by coaches are admitted to the College. Teevens, who repeatedly noted his plans to turn around the football team's record, said he has a good relationship with Furstenberg.
"I was offended, as most athletes were, with his comments. I had a chance to look him in the eye. He's sincere, he's apologetic and it's a done deal," Teevens said.
Furstenberg himself was noticeably absent from the forum. Wright said the organizers of the webcast did not want the discussion to focus solely on Furstenberg and the admissions office. Wright also implied that continuing to hound Furstenberg about the letter is not useful.
"These questions really need to come to me ... rather than Karl apologizing yet again," Wright said.
Although the webcast was an effort to ease the controversy surrounding Furstenberg's letter, Stevenson said it would take time before outrage would dissipate.
"It's a continuing sensitive issue," he said. "I think if the football program turns around, and if you see cooperation between the administration and football department, then the controversy should abate."
Wright defended his decision not to fire Furstenberg when he first learned about the letter, saying that move would have immediately thrown Dartmouth into a national debate. He added that he regretted that the letter ever became public.
The webcast will be archived online for three months and made available on closed-captioned DVDs. The panel was moderated by former Dartmouth football player J. Murray Bowden '71, who said he was angry with Furstenberg's letter but pleased with the College's official position on athletics.
Kate Lyon contributed to this report.
