Dartmouth's Board of Trustees has postponed indefinitely its decision to add eight new charter members, according to a Feb. 14 court document. The addition of these trustees, who would not be elected by alumni, has been at the center of the ongoing Association of Alumni suit against the College.
The College had said in previous court filings that it would not elect the additional trustees until Feb. 22, with the understood hope that the case would be resolved by that time. But with a Feb. 4 court ruling that denied the College's motion to dismiss the case, the suit will likely proceed to trial.
The College postponed the election of the new trustees in order to avoid a preliminary injunction filed by the Association. Such an injunction would temporarily bar the College from proceeding with its governance changes until the case is fully resolved.
In the Feb. 14 joint filing between the College and the Association, the College promised to give 45 days notice before the election of any additional trustees.
"Given the continued uncertainty created by the lawsuit filed against the College, the Board of Trustees has decided to suspend for now election of any additional trustees to the Board," Dartmouth general counsel Robert Donin said in a statement. "We believe this decision will help ensure that the Court has the opportunity to consider the full range of evidence in this case before being asked to decide whether a contract was formed in 1891 that prevents the College from implementing its current plan to strengthen Dartmouth's governance."
