The Alumni Council nominated Gail Koziara Boudreaux '82 and R. William Burgess '81 on Dec. 3 for the two open seats on the Board of Trustees. Boudreaux and Burgess will seek to replace exiting trustees Christine Bucklin '84 and Jose Fernandez '77 in the election this spring, college officials announced at the Council's Dec. 17 meeting.
Boudreaux and Burgess were nominated with 89 votes in favor and one abstention, according to a College press release.
Boudreaux, who is currently president of United Healthcare, received an MBA from Columbia University after graduating from Dartmouth, according to the press release. In 2009, Forbes named Boudreaux the 54th most powerful woman in the world while Fortune magazine ranked her at no. 38 on a list of the most powerful women in business, according to each magazine's respective website.
Boudreaux previously served as a representative on the Council, according to Council Chair Thomas Daniels '82, who presented the candidates at the meeting. Boudreaux is also one of the "premier athletes" to come out of Dartmouth, holding 12 College records, including a record for all-time scoring in women's basketball, Daniels said.
Boudreaux said her experience in health care will be beneficial as College President Jim Yong Kim works to launch Dartmouth's Center for Health Care Delivery Science. The effort provides an opportunity to "show real leadership" in deciphering issues addressing cost and quality of health care, Boudreaux said during a press conference following the Council meeting.
Ensuring that the College's long-term fiscal status "remains on the trajectory [it's] going" is continuously an important priority for trustees, Boudreaux said.
Association of Alumni president John Mathias '69 said that Boudreaux and Burgess are "both terrific nominees," but that he was particularly impressed with Boudreaux's record, adding that she has shown "leadership in all areas."
Burgess, a managing partner at venture capital firm ABS Ventures, received an MBA from Harvard Business School, according to his company biography. He served in various capacities focusing on venture capital and corporate finance at Deutsche Bank and Alex Brown and Sons.
Burgess said that as a Trustee, it is important to be a responsible steward of the College's assets and to be "willing to ask the tough questions," while also proposing innovative ideas.
He also noted that he intends to be "totally transparent" to alumni about his thoughts on the College. Burgess also expressed hope that he will be able to focus on meeting as many alumni as possible leading up to the election, rather than on campaigning.
"I'd rather not be in a position where I have to spend money campaigning against somebody else, because I'd rather give my resources to the College," he said during the press conference.
Extensive spending and negative campaigning throughout past elections have made some prospective nominees less interested in running for the Board, Daniels said.
The failure of negative campaigning in the most recent Board election, however, made prospective nominees more confident that they would not face the "ad hominem" attacks that characterized previous elections, Daniels said.
A member of Alpha Delta fraternity, Burgess served as Inter-Fraternity Council president while a student at the College, according to Daniels. He also played on the football, lacrosse and rugby teams, and served as chair of the reunion giving committee for the Class of 1981.
The Council's Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee met 13 times to choose from the 500 alumni under consideration as prospective nominees, Daniels said. The committee searched for alumni with an understanding of Board governance who were accomplished in their fields and had a broad appeal among alumni, he said.
Alumni Council President Tom Peisch '70, who served on the nominating committee, said he was "extremely impressed" with the selections, citing both nominees' success at Dartmouth, in the business world and in their non-profit work. He also said that each has a "real affection for Dartmouth," a trait that will bolster their success as trustees.
Candidates in recent alumni elections have focused on the College's 2007 increase in the number of Board-appointed trustees, which upset the earlier parity between appointed and alumni-elected trustees. This move resulted in two separate lawsuits by alumni groups, the second of which is still pending review by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
The new candidates are not likely to have a large impact on the lawsuit or related parity dispute, Peisch said, adding that they would mostly focus on "how to start helping the College."
"The mood of alumni is very positive these days," he said. "[Most alumni] are not inclined to lawsuits."
The College's decision to remove parity was originally motivated by a desire to increase the diversity of the Board and add more individuals from academia, but Peisch said that it is more important to look for "the best candidates from all walks of life" rather than adhering to a strict balance between academics and businessmen.
"What we look for most are well-rounded individuals," he said. "These two outstanding alumni will take their place and do what's good for the College."
Staff writer Emily Fletcher contributed to this article.
