Text of President Kemeny's Announcement

Following the Board of Trustees' decision on Sunday, November 21, President Kemeny made the first publicannouncements by local radio and television. The transcript of his TV statement, more concisely given, was asfollows:

The Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College met yesterday and today to consider two major proposals for the future of the College. All sixteen members of the Board were present. One and a half days of intensive discussion took place, and no member of the Board could have predicted in advance the outcome of the deliberations. We came prepared to listen and to reflect until the Board reached a consensus. The quality of the discussion was the decisive factor and throughout the entire period only one consideration guided the Board: namely, what is best for the future of Dartmouth College.

Out of this meeting came two major decisions. First, the Board approved the new plan for the year-round operation of Dartmouth College, effective the fall of 1972. This plan, to be known as The Dartmouth Plan, was approved unanimously and highly enthusiastically by the entire Board. It was the consensus that this is a major contribution to higher education, an exciting and innovative plan that will provide maximum freedom of choice for future students at Dartmouth, and one that will give Dartmouth a chance once more to play a role of leadership in higher education.

The plan has, in addition, some major favorable economic implications at a time when the College has a desire to increase its enrollment. It enables one to obtain sufficient new income to cover the extra costs and at the same time offer students a reduction in the cost of higher education. We have testimony from distinguished educators who feel that this is one of the most exciting new plans to appear on the higher education scene.

Secondly, the Board of Trustees voted to matriculate women degree candidates for the A.B. degree, effective the fall of 1972. The major consideration in reaching this decision was the conviction of the Board that women will play an increasingly important role in leadership positions in the future of our country. Since Dartmouth has traditionally prided itself on training leaders for our nation, in the future Dartmouth will play this role both for men and for women. The Board established a target of 3000 men and as many women as the new Dartmouth Plan will allow us to enroll.

In its deliberations the Board had available a vast amount of information —a statement by the College counsel that it had a free decision and was not bound by legal considerations to make a decision one way or the other; indepth studies by the consulting firm of Cresap, McCormick and Paget, studying the effects of coeducation at Princeton and Yale, and their evaluation that the effects have been overwhelmingly positive; as well as a study by the Budget Officer of the College and our consultants on the financial implications of the plan. The Board concluded that it was possible for it to make a fiscally responsible decision in favor of both the new Dartmouth Plan and the matriculation of women.

I have been extremely pleased personally by the high level of discussion that led up to the Board decision. While many held strong views on both sides, they were well and thoughtfully argued, with a deep concern for the future of the College. I have been most pleased by the many statements assuring the Board that although people had strong feelings, they would support the decision of the Board. In particular, the Board received a moving statement signed by the student leaders both pro and con assuring the Board of their support whatever the decision might be.

I was also pleased to have present on campus today Mr. Norman McCulloch, the president of the Dartmouth Alumni Council, who issued a strong statement commending the Board on its courageous action and pledging the support of all alumni.

The decisions today are of historic significance for the College. These decisions were made by sixteen "loyal sons who love her." They were made with a deep feeling for the quality of the institution and those factors that have made Dartmouth what it is today. I personally pledge all my efforts to preserve that which has made Dartmouth a unique institution and at the same time, with the mandate of the Board and with the help of the entire Dartmouth constituency, I pledge to lead Dartmouth into a great new future.