The results of a poll conducted using a convenience sample of 130 students pointed to a difference in perception among individual classes at the College regarding Kim's tenure. While members of the Class of 2012 rated Kim's tenure at Dartmouth as 4.26 on a scale of 1-10, members of the Class of 2015 rated it a 6.85 out of 10.
Initial Reactions
For Ayesha Dholakia '15, Kim's potential to make tangible global change as World Bank president outweighs any disappointment she feels as a Dartmouth student. Dholakia, who has a strong interest in medicine, decided to attend Dartmouth after learning about Kim's projects in health care delivery science.
"My disappointment is looking at it more from my perspective, an individual Dartmouth perspective," she said. "I don't think his departure will allow [his initiatives at Dartmouth] to come completely to fruition."
Charlotte Cipparone '12 expressed similar disappointment. Cipparone said she had specifically hoped Kim would have more time to focus on reducing the prevalence of binge drinking and sexual assault at Dartmouth.
"There needs to be continuity in leadership in order to find a solution," she said. "People are happy for him and happy for Dartmouth to get on the map in this way, but at the same time it's a bittersweet end."
Pranam Chatterjee '15 said he was proud of and excited by Kim's nomination because it will improve Dartmouth's reputation.
"This is a huge honor for the school," he said. "We'll be able to say we ran around the bonfire with this guy he gave us high fives and everything."
Some students said they expected Kim's imminent departure.
"The feeling among a lot of my friends is that he wasn't going to stick around for a long time," Nathan Gusdorf '12, an Occupy Dartmouth organizer, said. "I was surprised he was pulled to such a high-ranking position there he is with Obama and [Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner '83] at the press conference."
Although Gusdorf said Kim's departure would "work out better for everyone," he also said he believes Kim leaving the College after three years in office is ethically problematic.
"For someone who talks about leadership constantly to ditch his responsibilities so quickly I don't think that's a good model of leadership," Gusdorf said.
The timing of Kim's nomination was "convenient" following negative media attention about fraternity hazing allegations at the College and other issues such as sexual assault and his administration's lack of transparency "coming to a head," Karenina Rojas '13 said.
Kim's Nomination
Some students said they thought that the benefits of Kim's experience in health and development outweighed his lack of experience in financial spheres as it relates to the World Bank presidency.
"The development and humanitarian power is what he has a foothold in," Richard Asala '13 said. "The direction of the Bank is for humanitarian purposes if the head of the Bank has good experience, I think it will give it good direction."
If Kim's nomination is approved, his experience improving health care access and delivery could benefit the field of global health care, Dholakia said.
"It's a prestigious position, and he's qualified to make a difference," she said.
Some students said they believe Kim used his presidency as a stepping stone to a higher-level position.
Rojas, who said she believes Kim used his presidency to further his career, called the Dartmouth presidency a "bizarre" stepping stone to the World Bank.
"It didn't seem like there was any real reason for him to be at Dartmouth for anything longer than [maximum] five years," she said. "It didn't seem like it was a good fit for Kim it seemed very temporary, like he was headed somewhere else."
Kim's Impact on the College
Some students see increased visibility and closing the budget gap as Kim's primary contributions to the College, Chatterjee said.
"There was a potential for Dartmouth to take a huge downfall in terms of our finances and in terms of faculty," he said. "He was able to minimize that."
Chatterjee said in the long term, the global perception of Dartmouth will benefit students more than current events at the College, such as the changes to the meal plans, cause student discontent.
"We want to believe that whatever happens here is the most important," he said. "But our future is very much dependent on the education we get now. He's been able to showcase Dartmouth as a premiere educational institution, and that helps us, no matter who you are or if you disagree with him or not."
Some students, however, said Kim's three years at the College were not enough for him to decrease the prevalence of alcohol harm and sexual assault on campus.
Cipparone works as a co-chair of Green Team, a bystander intervention program that aims to reduce alcohol harm on campus and was implemented in winter 2011. While she said she was impressed that these problems were not ignored, committees to address alcohol harm have not yet sparked direct action, according to Cipparone.
"Now that he's leaving, we don't know if the next person coming in will be able to pick up where he left off," she said.
If Kim's successor does not see existing alcohol initiatives as a priority, the College community will be negatively impacted, according to Asala.
"[Kim] told us he's working with other schools to try and implement things that worked," Asala said, noting that after just three years, Kim was "highly in the research stage."
A gap in continuity, especially regarding Dartmouth health care initiatives, also worries Dholakia, she said.
"I don't think three years in an initiative this important can be enough to fulfill goals completely," she said. "If someone puts an initiative in place, if they're not the ones to follow through with it and have a direct role in completing it, at some level it's going to fail."
Kim did not increase discussion of fraternity and athletic culture and dialogues about alternative social spaces, Rojas said.
"I definitely expected that from him," Rojas said. "He has shown time and time again that he is going to do exactly what the trustees want him to do."
Campus discussions and debate about sexual assault advocated by Kim have been ineffective, John Finkelberg '13, a Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor, said.
Although organizations like SAPA and Mentors Against Violence help improve the College, Kim did not play a large role in energizing them, Finkelberg said.
"He has a lot of work to do here, but maybe he's not capable of doing it," Finkelberg said. "We'll find another guy who will be just as good, if not better."
Next President
When asked about their expectations for Kim's successor, some students said they want a president who will keep Dartmouth's traditions strong.
"I'm hoping we'll find a replacement who will be an incredible president and can help lead Dartmouth forward," Cipparone said.
Finkelberg and Rojas said they hope that Dartmouth will appoint a female president.
"I would like to see a female alum from the first classes," Rojas said. "She would be particularly able to speak to the Greek system and the issues faced by women and minorities on campus."
Rojas added, however, that while she would appreciate a female president, she does not think it is likely.
If the Trustees appoint a female president, they must be careful not to rely solely on the appearance of diverse administration as opposed to actively addressing issues of diversity, Rojas said.
"The fear is that we'll get, for example, a Latina lesbian president, and [the administration] will say, Oh! We've got a Latina lesbian president! It's covered! We don't have to do anything else for issues of diversity,'" Rojas said. "In a sense, that's what happened with Jim Kim."
A president who focuses on student intellectualism, not international prestige, would best serve the College, Gusdorf said.
"Jim Kim could be a really good person to head the World Bank," Gusdorf said. "As long as we don't get shafted on the next president, it's probably a good thing that he's going."
