The Oxford English Dictionary defines a trustee as "a person in whom confidence is put." This spring, Dartmouth's alumni will elect their newest trustee. In whom will they put their confidence? They will have four choices. Three were selected by the Alumni Council -- Richard "Sandy" Alderson '69, Sherri Oberg '82 Tu'86, and John Wolf '70 -- and one petitioned for candidacy, Stephen Smith '88. Contrary to popular belief, there are real differences between the candidates on matters of both personal style and platform.
The most interesting element of Alderson's candidacy is his eye-catching resume, which includes 25 years in management in Major League Baseball. On Dartmouth issues he is much more standard. Scrutinizing his candidate statement posted on VoxtheVote.org, he appears to be firmly aligned with the current administration's priorities. In the statement, he lists his four central goals: "preserving Dartmouth the college," "promoting diversity in all of its manifestations, including diversity of expression," "promoting athletics and other forms of extracurricular opportunity" and "pursuing collegiality." With the possible exception of the athletics point, these four issues are all very high on College President James Wright's standard list of talking points. Interestingly, Alderson tells us in his statement that he was considered but not nominated as a trustee candidate in 2001 because he was "too independent-minded for the board." Independence of mind is admirable, but the claim is frankly a little surprising given how closely Alderson's priorities match the administration's current path.
Oberg appears nearly identical to Alderson without the cool resume. (She is a successful entrepreneur in biotechnology). Oberg and Alderson's points appear to parrot each other in different words. In her candidate statement, Oberg lists three guiding principles: "attracting and retaining the most distinguished faculty, who value teaching as highly as research," "admitting well-rounded students with strong leadership potential from a variety of backgrounds" and "preserving Dartmouth's special community, which is core to what makes Dartmouth great." But Oberg does express one notable position that is entirely absent from Alderson's rhetoric. In her answers to a series of essay questions asked each of the candidates, she lists "strong fraternities and sororities" as an "important element to Dartmouth's unique community."
On Dartmouth issues, Wolf is by far the most distinctive of the Alumni Council's three candidates. After a long career of international relations-oriented work in both the public and private sectors, Wolf's primary issue is, as expressed in the opening sentence of his candidate statement, bringing "a global perspective to the board." Indeed, he stresses global competition almost to the exclusion of all other rhetoric. In his answer to an essay question regarding how Dartmouth should move forward, he states that "the College needs not only to bring the world to the Hanover plain but it needs to do more to take Dartmouth to the world." Like the others, Wolf stresses the importance of Dartmouth's intimate, collegiate feel; however, he sees it not solely as a virtue in itself but also as a way to market the College internationally.
Smith is probably the best-known candidate, as he has probably been discussed more in these pages than all of the Alumni Council's candidates combined. What is immediately obvious with a visit to Smith's website is that the man is a straight talker. Smith expresses his views on Dartmouth issues clearly and specifically to a degree that the other candidates, with the possible exception of Oberg, do not. Smith's most debated idea is his claim that Dartmouth has a "speech code," which the Dartmouth Free Press thoroughly debunked in its most recent issue. But there is much more to Smith's candidacy than free speech. Along with the standard priorities of keeping Dartmouth a college and ensuring strong Greek and athletic programs, Smith speaks adamantly against the "bureaucratic bloat" that he convincingly argues is evident. He even expresses support for Committee on Standards reform. To me, these last two issues in particular demonstrate that of the four candidates, Smith is most in touch with current student opinion.
So alumni, whom do you trust? Whatever you do, don't "vote your heart." Vote the issues, and keep an open mind. Consider Dartmouth's future as well as its past. Change is not all bad. In looking to the future, nostalgia will not do.
