PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH

The President also used Convocation to announce his planned 1970 retirement, and it appears students will be more faithfully represented in their dealings with the faculty search committee which will filter student suggestions and ideas to the Trustees.

The first stage of the two-year search is the development of a "philosophy of the presidency." After that, criteria for a new President must be set up, men recommended to fill the opening, and a final decision made.

The faculty committee made clear its willingness to hear suggestions from students in the first and second stages and said it would accept well-considered student suggestions in the third. As for the final stage — the selection is up to the Trustees, and even the faculty doesn't expect to be consulted.

So far, the quantity of student ideas has been less than overwhelming. One possibility gaining currency among undergraduates is a system where a Chairman of the Board oversees the corporate aspects of Dartmouth while a President concerns himself with making on-campus policy.

The biggest question the search committee must deal with, however, is what kind of man can keep Dartmouth alive financially in the next 25 years. If that question isn't answered, everything else will be academic. And, no matter how good their intentions, it is not likely students can come up with an answer to that one.