Some people feel it inappropriate for the College actually to be run by its alumni. A senior official in the Alumni Relations Office once told me "the alumni are not like shareholders of a company, with rights to govern." A member of the current Alumni Governance Task Force (AGTF) expressed to me his frustration with the outsider activists who keep arguing over, in his words, these "so-called rights." All who deny the right of alumni to participate in the governance of the College are wrong; such a right does exist.
Thanks to Daniel Webster, Dartmouth College is a legal entity with contractual rights. At one time it faced a severe financial crisis and was in danger of extinction. Its alumni stepped up with financial support but, wanting to oversee how their money would be spent, they obtained from the College a right to seat alumni representatives on the Board of Trustees in return for their contribution. Dartmouth granted this right to participate in the governance of the College itself to its alumni, and it is disturbing to hear some now deny its existence. This is exactly like a company "shareholder rights agreement" guaranteeing a major investor a seat on its board. The only difference is that the Dartmouth alumni investors did not want to oversee their investment for personal gain, but rather to insure its proper use so Dartmouth could become an "enduring institution."
Indeed, the election of trustees by the alumni is not only a right, but arguably a moral obligation for all successor alumni in the stewardship of the College. I do not suggest alumni run the College day-to-day; that would of course be insane. Rather, alumni responsibilities lie in selecting trustees who provide strategic oversight and ultimate accountability for the administration. How can this be done without politicizing the various alumni groups, or using such groups as vehicles to impact trustee selection? Now, the second half of my suggestion (continuing from "An Enduring Institution: Part I," Feb. 23):
- Sever all connections between the Alumni Assembly and its representatives and an alumni-wide process for nominating and electing trustees. Revise any Alumni Association constitution (either the existing one or that being proposed) to provide for both the nomination and election of trustees only on an alumni-wide basis. Perhaps candidates should only be placed on the slate through petition. If better candidates can be encouraged to step forward through a nominating committee, all members of the committee itself should only be elected through alumni-wide balloting. There should be no guaranteed seat on a nominating committee for any Assembly member who "represents" a class, club or other group, and importantly the Assembly should not be allowed to vote for who such committee members will be. The same should apply to a balloting committee, or simplify things and have one committee oversee both nominations and elections. Committees related to trustee elections should only be subordinate to Association officer rules if the leadership itself is only formed by alumni-wide elections, without pre-ordained officer seats or rights to vote for officers given to Assembly members. (Alternatively, if there are reasons for having Assembly-selected officers, they must constitutionally be required to abstain from any rule-making that relates to trustee selection.)
Engaging in an independent trustee nomination process will provide a proper outlet for those who care greatly about College direction, without forcing them to politicize the governance of classes, regional clubs, ethnic affiliate groups or "Friends of XXX." For those who do not care, or feel it is not their right to govern, they can opt out and not participate. For those who feel it is not their place but fear non-participation will allow "outside insurgents" to hijack the College, they can delegate their proxy to vote for trustee nominators to an active Assembly member, administrator, or whomever they feel is more appropriate.
This proposal in fact takes us back to the way alumni participated in governance of the College, before the Association delegated trustee nominations to an arguably-undemocratic Council. I am not advocating returning to the past for its own sake; if so one might also argue for having the athletic department report not to the administration, but to the alumni Dartmouth College Athletic Council as it once did. Rather this proposal seems a better way to go forward.
Some say a more representative Assembly can be better trusted by all alumni to do the right thing. The framers of the United States government understood that such trust by itself is insufficient, and built in checks and balances that have served well. The proposal above offers a way to check the inevitable pressures on and from multiple alumni organizations to influence and control Dartmouth's direction, without giving up or making subservient to such pressures the College-granted rights of alumni collectively to do just that.
It will allow us alumni to continue in service to Dartmouth (through various alumni organizations coordinated collectively in an Assembly) and, through the independent nomination and election of trustees, to remain engaged both as a right and an obligation to steward her enduring future.
