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The Dartmouth
April 24, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

The Year in Review

The Class of 2010's final year at the College hasbeen marked by the inauguration of a new president whohas worked alongside a restructured administration toaddress budget challenges and campus issues such as alcoholoverconsumption. The 2009-2010 school year alsofeatured contentious alumni politics along with severaladditions to the College's Greek system.Global health leader Jim Yong Kim assumed office as the College's 17th president in July, following thedeparture of former College President James Wright. Kimwas formerly the director of the HIV/AIDS division ofthe World Health Organization and served as a professorat Harvard University. He is also co-founder of PartnersIn Health a non-profit global health organization thatprovides medical care to communities in developing nations and is known for his research on drug-resistanttuberculosis. Kim's initiation ceremony took place Sept.22, at which he spoke about his commitment to the completeliberal arts education.In October, Kim announced that the College'sendowment had dropped 23 percent during the 2009fi scal year, a loss totaling $835 million. The Board ofTrustees announced in November that Dartmouth wouldaim to cut $100 million from its budget over the next twoyears.In December, the College announced a seriesof staff-reduction initiatives in response to the budgetdeficit, including a retirement incentive package offeredto all employees. Employees ineligible for the packagecould take advantage of a "staff option" that allowedthem to apply for a separate layoff package. A total of105 employees voluntarily retired through the retirementincentive program, which allowed staff members at least55 years old who have worked at least 10 years for theCollege to receive nine months' pay if they decide toretire before June 30, 2010.The College denied a request made in Januaryby the Service Employees International Union to place anindefinite hold on layoffs and staff cuts until negotiationshad been completed.Changes to financial aid were implemented inFebruary to further reduce College spending, reversingthe no-loan policy implemented in 2008. Starting withthe Class of 2015, families earning over $75,000 annuallywill be required to take out loans of $2,500 to $5,500.The College will also sell properties considered nonessentialto the purpose of the school.Kim announced in April that the College wouldlay off 38 staff members in an attempt to reduce the budgetdeficit.Students Stand with Staff, a campus groupconcerned with the effect layoffs would have on theDartmouth and Upper Valley community, held a weeklongseries of "teach-ins" that month to inform students,faculty and Upper Valley residents about the layoffs andto voice their grievances. Kim rejected SSWS's claimsthat the administration was assuming a "corporate" ideology.College administrators finalized the budget reductionplan in April. Critics of the plan said that cuts inbenefits provided to College employees and the propsed36 additional layoffs indicated that the administrationvalued academics over other aspects of College life.In August, the College announced plans tomerge the First-Year Office and the Upperclass Dean'sOffice under the Office of the Dean of UndergraduateStudents in order to increase consistency and efficiencyin student advising. Prior to this reorganization, studentswere assigned a first-year dean and later assigned a differentdean for the next three years. The seven deans nowadvise an equal number of students from each class ratherthan first-year students having their own advising system.The College administration underwent significant restructuring throughout the year. Executivevice president for finance and administration AdamKeller stepped down Dec. 1 and Kim announced that hisposition would not be filled. Senior vice president andstrategic advisor Steve Kadish assumed many of Keller'sformer responsibilities. In June, Kadish assumed the roleof executive vice president and chief financial officer.In October, Barry Scherr stepped down asprovost after eight years in the position to pursue otheracademic work. Kim announced that Dean of FacultyCarol Folt would serve as interim provost until the positionwas permanently filled.After a month-long internal search, the Collegeappointed Folt to the position of full-time provost in May.Folt will assume the full responsibilities of the positiononce the next dean of the faculty is selected. Kim said thesearch will begin immediately and will likely be internal.Tom Crady resigned as Dean of the College inAugust after 20 months in the position. The College announcedthat Sylvia Spears, former director of the Offi ceof Pluralism and Leadership and acting senior associateDean of the College, will fi ll this position for two years,at which point a national search for a permanent replacementwill take place.In April, Spears announced that Director ofUndergraduate Judicial Affairs April Thompson would benamed associate Dean of the College for Campus Life.The same month, Kim announced furtherchanges to the administration's organization. The changes,implemented June 1, sought to "introduce a more integratedsenior management structure," Kim said in a letterto the Dartmouth community. Fewer administratorsreport directly to the president under the new system,which also created a new Chief of Staff position.John Replogle '88 and Morton Kondracke'60, both nominated by the Alumni Council, wereelected to the Board of Trustees in April. Replogledefeated petition candidate Joe Asch '79, while Kondrackeran unopposed. The Board of Trustees electedStephen Mandel '78 to be the next chairman of theBoard, replacing Ed Haldeman '70.Throughout the campaign, the candidates,current trustees and outside organizations publiclycriticized one another over issues of spending, negativecampaigning and alleged presidential endorsements.Voting alumni also elected the 11-member"Unity" slate led by incumbent Association PresidentJohn Mathias '69, to the Association's executive boardover the "Dartmouth United" petition slate. Campaignspending for the election totalled more than $300,000,Kim previously told The Dartmouth.In January, the Grafton County SuperiorCourt dismissed an alumni lawsuit filed against theBoard of Trustees. The lawsuit was the second filedagainst the Board regarding the issue of parity, theequal balance between alumni-elected and Board-appointedtrustees. In 2007, the Board chose to endparity by adding eight additional Board-appointed seatsand the Association reacted by fi ling an initial lawsuit.The Association withdrew its lawsuit in 2008 when anexecutive committee opposing the suit was elected, buta group of alumni filed a second lawsuit, claiming thatthe Board violated a 1891 agreement to maintain parity.The suit was later dismissed.Phi Delta Alpha fraternity's physical plantsuffered fi re and water damage in January when afi re in the attic activated the sprinkler system. The 25fraternity members living in the house lost their possessionsin the fi re and were relocated to residence halls.Following the plant's reconstruction, Phi Delt memberswill be able to resume residence in the house this summer.Spears unexpectedly announced in Septemberthat the College's proposed Alcohol ManagementPolicy a set of guidelines for alcohol use at campussocial events that would have replaced the currentSocial Event Management Procedures would notbecome official College policy. In October, the StudentAssembly selected nine students to serve on a SEMPadvisory committee to review the College's alcoholpolicy.The same month, Spears announced that theCollege would form a student board for the new OrganizationalAdjudication Committee to review casesof student organizations accused of minor misconductby the end of Winter term. Five students from the 50person board would hear each case and make recommendationsto OAC chair Nathan Miller, the assistantdirector of Judicial Affairs.By Emily Fletcher, The Dartmouth StaffThe establishment of a student-run board wasconsistent with recommendations made by a committeein May 2009 after then-Student Body PresidentFrances Vernon '10 called for the establishment of acommittee that would address concerns about the lackof transparency in the process of determining punishmentsfor Greek houses.The board's implementation was delayed inlate February due to the administration's preoccupationwith budget cuts and the Phi Delt fire. Students begantraining during Winter term to participate in the newOAC board, however, and the board held its first hearingat a closed meeting in March.In May, the College announced plans to createthe Dartmouth Center for Health Care DeliveryScience by Summer 2011 with a $35 million gift froman anonymous donor. The Center will offer health-carerelated classes to undergraduates and create a master'sprogram through the Tuck School of Business. It willalso collaborate with other organizations on health careresearch.The Hanover Planning Board approved theCollege's proposed design for the new Visual ArtsCenter in July. Construction will proceed despite budgetcuts because donations have been earmarked forthe project.After eight years of inactivity, Zeta Psi fraternityfulfilled the College's re-recognition requirementsand participated in the Fall rush process. Zete, whichwas de-recognized by the College in 2001, has a newlyrenovated plant on Webster Avenue.Kappa Delta sorority, which became theeighth Panhellenic sorority on campus in May 2009,initiated its fi rst class over Summer 2009. During theFall, the national sorority participated in the formalrush process for the first time.The Office of Residential Life completedrenovations to Delta Delta Delta sorority's house overthe Summer and provided a new physical plant forAlpha Xi Delta in the Fall. The $3 million buildingproject for AZD's new plant converted faculty apartmentsat 17 East Wheelock St. into a house with commonsocial spaces and 23 single-occupancy rooms.Plans to renovate a house for Alpha Phi sorority arecurrently suspended due to financial restraints. KappaDelta sorority also does not yet have a physical plant.Sigma Phi Epsilon's physical plant will bedemolished over Summer term and a new $2.1 millionfacility will be constructed with money from loans,room rent and a capital campaign. The new three-storybuilding will house 25 students, an increase from thecurrent capacity of 21, and will have larger commonsocial spaces.In the aftermath of the devastating 7.0 earthquakein Haiti in January, students formed Students atDartmouth for Haiti Relief to assist in recovery efforts.Founded by Vernon, Maura Cass '10 and AlexandraSchindler '10, the group organized educational eventsand fundraisers, working with administrators and thecommunity to solicit donations for Partners In Health.Students elected Eric Tanner '11 and BrandonAiono '11 to lead Student Assembly as student bodypresident and vice president in April. Tanner's campaignplatform focused on reforming the Assemblycommittee system to refocus the Assembly on policyissues instead of programming. Tanner ran against ElenaFalloon '11 and Uthman Olagoke '11, while Aionodefeated Will Hix '12.In May, General Assembly approved constitutionalbylaw amendments that would allow for thecreation of issue-based committees that were proposedin Tanner's campaign platform.The admissions rate for the Class of 2014 hita record low 11.5 percent, down from 12.5 percent lastyear. The Admissions Office accepted 2,165 of a record18,778-person applicant pool and a record 55 percentof admitted students accepted the College's offer ofadmission by the May 1 deadline. The number of EarlyDecision applicants rose 3 percent, while the number ofregular decision applicants rose 3.5 percent versus lastyear.Dartmouth placed No. 1 in a new U.S. Newsand World Report ranking comparing the quality ofundergraduate teaching at national universities. TheCollege was also ranked No. 11 among all nationaluniversities for the second year in a row.The College thoroughly prepared for a severeswine flu outbreak during Fall term after five H1N1cases were suspected on campus last spring. Althoughmost affected students did not fall severely ill, about240 Dartmouth students tested positive for the H1N1virus by Oct. 16. Students were able to receive theH1N1 vaccine at Dick's House during the Fall.Henry Masters, a student in the master's ofpublic health program at The Dartmouth Institute forHealth Policy and Clinical Practice, passed away inNovember after testing positive for the H1N1 virus, althoughthe underlying cause of his death was a chronicautoimmune disorder.In a December settlement with the NewHampshire Department of Labor, Dartmouth agreed topay $2,000 in fi nes for more than 740 labor law violationsat the College-owned Hanover Inn. Dartmouthdid not admit guilt but decided to pay the fines, as wellas $29,000 in back pay to catering employees, to avoidexpensive litigation costs, Dartmouth associate generalcounsel Kevin O'Leary previously told The Dartmouth.The Service Employees International UnionLocal 560 filed a complaint with the National LaborRelations board in April, alleging that the College hasfailed to negotiate the contracts of Hanover Inn employeesand be forthright about its future plans for theInn.Kadish announced in April that independentreal estate firm Carpenter & Company will manage theassets of the Inn in the future.