President Wright gets extraordinary (for lack of a better word) facetime. It seems as though almost every other week, I hear about our president receiving public recognition for his admirable, ongoing work with U.S. military veterans. He even managed to beat out Tom Brady for "New Englander of the Year"! But as I think about James Wright's non-Dartmouth-related actions, I can't help but question what his role is, and should be, as Dartmouth's president. Ultimately, President Wright seems to understand his role to be that of a figurehead and fundraiser, and while this may have its flaws, the College certainly benefits from it.
To some extent, our university president is like any other member of our administrative bureaucracy. In that regard, the president needs to be a policymaker for the institution, and one who is capable of balancing structural needs with intellectual or academic ones, because it is his voice that will always be heard loudest. But unlike the role of another top administrator such as Dean of the College, the president's actions are necessarily set against the backdrop of public relations. I say "backdrop" deliberately, because the purpose of strong public relations skills here is only to help better illuminate the good things being accomplished on campus.
In his most recent forum for discussing the state of the College -- his "Tenth Annual Report to the General Faculty" speech -- Wright refers to himself as both a historian and a president, each with its own responsibilities and stigmas. Wright's words communicate clearly that his primary concern is not that of the historian, but that of a president: to project forward into Dartmouth's future. First of all, it is good that we have a president who recognizes this important distinction, and we should not take it for granted.
One of the most recent university president controversies was that involving Lee Bollinger -- the president of Columbia University -- and his verbal bashing of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his invited visit to Columbia in late September. New York Times opinion columnist Stanley Fish was particularly disappointed in Bollinger's decision to refer to himself as "only a professor, who is also a university president." Fish argues that the position of university president is an academic one that can in no way be political in nature, for the latter scenario could jeopardize the reputation of a university as an institution established for the transmission of knowledge.
As for President Wright, I am sure that he would agree with Fish, because his headlines are not political assertions and they avoid the potential for discrediting his leadership or our institution. I hear Wright's name most often in the context of his personal philanthropic endeavors. Many of us are tired of seeing James Wright's big smile on the Dartmouth College homepage on account of his philanthropy, but it is undeniably good for Dartmouth's PR (and the veterans), and, better yet, none of it conflicts with what he does on campus as president.
This does not mean that President Wright's decisionmaking is perfect. As I said earlier, I see public image not as an end in itself, but as a backdrop that can help highlight accomplishments, assuage dissent and, most importantly, attract financial contributors. So while his public decisions have been effective in this regard, I feel that perhaps he spends too much time on his philanthropy. Philanthropy is a vital core value for an institution such as ours, but Wright can serve as a positive face for Dartmouth by slightly diminishing his outside work.
With less time spent on other projects, he could push forward changes that we feel on a daily basis. He could develop better communication lines with the student body and with the lower levels of his bureaucracy. I have faith in the power of James Wright's large cranium to solve many of Dartmouth's problems, and it would not interfere with his fundraising interests. In fact, a president with closer ties to the student body could be exactly what alumni and students alike are looking for.
I am not saying that it this is an easy balance, but maybe a minor tweak in Wright's actions could be beneficial for all. Wright's primary responsibility is not the daily workings of Dartmouth -- that is for the Dean of the College to handle -- but that does not mean he can ignore it, because he is the man on top. Too often we feel as though we are marginalized by those at the top of the mysterious college bureaucracy. So please, President Wright, give the students, as well as alumni, a better reason to trust the top.
