Since our new president's introduction in March, Jim Yong Kim has repeatedly referred to former College President John Sloan Dickey as a great model even likening himself to the former President during his first address to the College. Certainly Dickey's example is a strong one, but it is not the only, or perhaps even the best, example for Kim to follow.
Dickey shared a special international perspective with our new leader derived from a multifaceted career not only away from Dartmouth but from academia as well. After assuming the presidency in 1945, Dickey brought his uncommon experience to Hanover, instituting new initiatives that became a significant part of the modern Dartmouth education, including foreign study programs and the Tucker Foundation, as well as the "Great Issues" course which Kim plans to reinstitute.
Yet maybe the greater example for Kim to look toward in the coming months and years is not Dickey, but the man who succeeded him in 1970: former College President John Kemeny.
Not exactly a stranger to the Big Green, Kemeny was a mathematics professor for 17 years at Dartmouth before he ascended to the presidency. Still, Kemeny's situation held some peculiar similarities to Kim's current position.
Like our new president, Kemeny's minority background Jewish and born in Budapest, Hungary made him a fresh choice to run what Kemeny called a "WASP-ish institution historically." Alumni expressed skepticism that Kemeny could understand the true "Dartmouth Experience," and as he assumed the presidency, many expected him to be busy simply maintaining the high standards set by his predecessor.
And yet Kemeny was unafraid to make major changes where he deemed it necessary, ultimately leaving a lasting mark on Dartmouth. Kemeny improved the College's academic standing, vastly increased minority enrollment and revived its original commitment to educate Native American students. As his greatest achievement, Kemeny conceived of and implemented the distinctive year-round "Dartmouth Plan" in order to enable coeducation. In his quest to replace another successful president, Wright, Kim would be wise to approach his term with the same receptive eye for change that Kemeny demonstrated almost 40 years ago.
There is no doubt that Kim will encounter a series of controversies and hardships starting with the College's fragile budget. Yet Kim can also learn from Kemeny's example as he steered Dartmouth through the 1970s relatively unscathed. Just two months after Kemeny's inauguration, National Guard troops at Kent State University opened fire on students who were demonstrating against the Vietnam War. As campuses around the country exploded in protest, Kemeny shut down the College to force the rage to subside and rational debate and discussion to take its place. Altough sometimes contentious, the president's actions must help Dartmouth stay peaceful and unified through trying moments, be they societal or economic.
Kim has expressed some dismay and hesitation in relinquishing his freedom to combat the global health care problems that he has dedicated his career to fighting. But Kemeny's example shows that becoming the executive does not preclude other work. As the co-creator of the BASIC computing language, Kemeny's accomplishments in computers and mathematics were widely heralded. During his time as president, he still found time to conduct research, publish papers and teach two classes a year. While the presidency is arguably more time consuming than it was 40 years ago, Kim can still use his new title to command a greater stage for his initiatives.
However, perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from John Kemeny's time as president is that one has to truly "live" Dartmouth to become a successful president. Neither Kemeny nor Kim were naturally bonded to the College as a Dartmouth alum, but Kemeny showed that he could still love, cherish and in some ways sacrifice himself for Dartmouth. The former president said, "My commitment to this College is the same as my commitment to my wife. Til death do us part.'" Thus, even after he stepped down, Kemeny returned to the classroom, teaching and influencing and loving his students.
Kim appears ready to confront pressing challenges and bring a new period of illumination and progress to the College. But it remains to be seen if he can truly commit and consecrate himself to Dartmouth as Kemeny did years ago. This job is not just another stepping-stone to greater work and accomplishment. It provides the grandest opportunity in the world: a platform to shape the next generation of leaders, visionaries and simply moral, learned individuals. Only when Kim learns this lesson from his predecessors can he ascend to the greatest heights of Dartmouth tradition.
