The candidates were asked two formal questions, followed by a series of informal questions from attendees, during the discussion, Replogle said.
Kondracke said he stressed to alumni the fact that the election is a choice and urged alumni to explore the candidates' prior statements on the College. He also voiced his support for Replogle, he said.
"My main point was that [Asch] has been a non-stop critic of the College, and he is also inclined to be a micromanager," Kondracke said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "Joe's basic argument is I live in Hanover, I talk to professors, I talk to students, I know the place intimately.'"
At the forum, Kondracke said the role of a trustee does not include telling the president what decisions he should make.
"I was scolded by the moderator for making negative comments about someone else, but I think the contrast had to be made because [the election] is a choice," he said.
Candidates also discussed academics at the College, specifically course oversubscription, according to Asch.
"Both John Replogle and Mort Kondracke said that the oversubscription problem that Dartmouth students face today was also a serious problem when they were students," Asch said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Asch said students getting waitlisted or not admitted to classes was "quite unknown" in his time at the College with the exception of "a small seminar with a special professor."
Asch said he thought the forum was "civil" and "enormously informative."
Speaking to alumni in New York City on March 3, College President Jim Yong Kim outlined his views on important characteristics for trustee candidates.
Responding to a question from Linda Gridley '82, Kim said he believed the trustee candidates should be people who have been "wildly successful" in the outside world and who can bring those experiences and leadership to the Board of Trustees, Kim said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Kim said he also believes trustees should understand that their role is not to "micromanage all the details of Dartmouth administration."
Asch said Kim's description of the characteristics of a trustee was "spot-on," but said he thought there was a more significant characteristic that Kim did not mention.
"The two characteristics that [Kim] points out are less important than the most vital characteristic of a trustee, which is to have the commitment and intelligence to understand the daily life of the College," he said. "It's clear to me that over the past 10 years, for whatever reason, the majority of the Board have not been successful in fulfilling those requirements, and that is why the College is facing the grave financial crisis and structural deficits that President Kim is working to alleviate today."
Kondracke, who attended the event in New York, said he believed Kim was describing Replogle and himself when he identified real-world success as a key characteristic of a good trustee. He said, however, that he did not interpret Kim's comments as a direct endorsement of the two candidates.
Kondracke also noted that he believed Kim was referring to Asch when he expressed concern about trustees who "micromanage."
"I have a notion that Asch is the type of guy who will greet Kim every morning on the steps of Parkhurst and tell him what he should do that day." he said. "I don't think he understands the difference between being a trustee and being an administrator."
Kim told The Dartmouth he wanted to emphasize that he has not endorsed a particular candidate.
"I have just been hearing from so many different places that they have the impression that I have endorsed a particular candidate, in this case Joe Asch, and I just want to make it really clear that is not my role here," Kim said.
Following a request from Kondracke, a group of 25 trustees emeriti recently sent out a letter that urged alumni to support Kondracke and Replogle, according to trustee emeritus Susan Dentzer '77.
Dentzer said she and the other trustees emeriti believe that it is important to respect the process by which the Alumni Council nominates candidates.
"All of us who are emeriti have lived what it means to be a trustee and feel that the alumni council nominating committee takes into account the most important qualities," she said.
Peter Fahey '68 Th '69, also a former trustee, said he signed the letter because he has "great faith and trust in the exhaustive process that the alumni council uses to select candidates."
"It is important for the future of the College that the process occurs," he said.
In a mailing that was sent out last week, three sitting trustees who were nominated for the Board by petition T.J. Rodgers '70, Peter Robinson '79 and Stephen Smith '88 announced their support for Asch, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Kondracke said he did not think it was "good form" for current trustees to be publicly supporting a candidate.
Kim said he believed that the letter could lead other trustees to openly take sides in the race, also noting that he hoped future alumni races would be less "difficult."
"I think that contentious and expensive and acrimonious races are bad for Dartmouth College," he said.
Voting for the Board of Trustee elections began March 10, and concludes April 7.
