In an amendment to its constitution, the Alumni Council removed language requiring the Council to submit three candidates for trustee elections at its biannual meeting Saturday. This amendment will ensure that the Council complies with any possible changes to the structure of trustee elections made by either the Board of Trustees or the Association of Alumni.
The Council chose to vote on the amendment now to avoid having to call an emergency session to reconsider the amendment after learning the results of the Association's executive committee elections or of the Association's lawsuit against the College, Council President J.B. Daukas '84 said.
Election rules are determined by the Association of Alumni, not the Council. The Association's constitution currently states that the Council must submit three candidates for trustee elections, and the Council is required to comply with the Association's rules.
"The amendment gives us the flexibility to follow whatever rules we are expected to follow," Daukas said.
The Board has taken steps to increase its size, as advised, and has claimed the authority to unilaterally implement electoral reforms, according to former Council president Rick Silverman '81. Last September, the Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees released a report advising the Board to expand the number of trustees from 18 to 26 and to change the way elections are run. The suggestions included reducing the required number of Council-nominated trustee candidates to one and holding elections only if a petition candidate challenges the nominee.
The Alumni Council is responsible for submitting nominees to any open trustee seat while the Association of Alumni oversees the elections. In the past four elections, petition candidates have won against the nominees presented by the Council. In November 2006, a proposed new constitution that would combine the Association and Council into one body and institute trustee election reforms was defeated.
The Association is now suing the Board, arguing that it does not have the power to change the number of trustees or the electoral rules.
Silverman hopes any changes to election rules would result from negotiations between the Council, the Association and the Board of Trustees, he said.
Frank Gado '58, a member of the Association executive committee who support the lawsuit, said an agreement should be made between the Association and the Board, and the Council should have no role in the decision.
"The conduct of the elections is the responsibility of the Association," he said.
Gado, Daukas and Silverman all emphasized that any change in election policy will depend on the outcome of the lawsuit.
Tim Dreisbach '71, a member of the Association executive committee, said in an e-mail message that he did not believe the change to the Council's constitution was a "big deal," and that the ultimate authority over elections rests with the Association, not the Council or the Board.
The Council passed two other amendments that Silverman said are less controversial. The first extended the term limit of the faculty representative on the Council from two to three years, while the second instituted a term limit of three years for members of the alumni liaison committee.
During their three days at the College, members also met with Dean of the College Tom Crady, toured Greek houses and attended student and faculty panels on campus issues.
Silverman described the visit as a chance for alumni to get to know the College, adding that he hoped the Council would continue to focus on learning about College life in the future.
"We don't want to spend all our time on governance," he said, "as much as it may look like that to students."
