Over the course of the past year, the Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition, elected a new chair and expressed support for College President Phil Hanlon’s proposed initiatives. Its most recent meeting was June 6.
“It’s a very brief meeting,” College spokesperson Justin Anderson said. “Trustees are largely here for Commencement-related activities.”
On March 8, the Board of Trustees approved a 2.9 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, fees and room and board for the 2014-15 academic year, the lowest percent increase since 1977.
The reduced increase in tuition is part of a larger goal to increase the accessibility of a Dartmouth education, Hanlon said in a press release.
“I applaud the Board for emphasizing the need to invest in our academic programs while at the same time keeping Dartmouth affordable for a diverse and talented student body,” Hanlon said in the statement.
Undergraduate tuition for the 2014-15 academic year will be $46,763. Tuition, room, board and fees will total $61,947.
Tuition for the Geisel School of Medicine will rise 5 percent to $56,104, and tuition for the Tuck School of Business will rise 4.5 percent to $61,605. The Thayer School of Engineering’s tuition will rise 2.9 percent.
For fiscal year 2015, the Board budgeted $85 million for financial aid, a 5.9 percent increase. The entire Board-approved operating budget totals $1 billion, and some projects will be supported by an additional capital budget of $54 million.
At the March meeting, Bill Helman ’80 was elected to a three-year term as the new Chair of the Board. He will succeed Steve Mandel ’78 following Commencement.
A partner at venture capital firm Greylock, Helman received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1984. He has been a member of the Board since 2009.
Helman and Mandel are working together to ensure a smooth transition, Mandel has said in previous interviews.
Also at the Board’s March meeting, trustees heard presentations on the new living learning community initiatives. These communities will offer design-your-own living options and incorporate current affinity houses.
Hanlon and Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson’s proposed sexual assault policy, which includes the use of a trained external investigator to investigate and determine responsibility for sexual assault, received unanimous support from the Board.
The policy was open for public feedback until April 14.
The College’s endowment surpassed $4 billion for the first time, Mandel said in a March letter to the community.
The decline in applications this year prompted the Board to reevaluate all activities used to attract applicants, Mandel said in the letter.
Mandel also said in the letter that the Board expects to launch more interdisciplinary, experiential learning programs in the next few years. Mandel said that recent examples of such programs have included government professor Charles Wheelan’s public policy course in India.
