The Fourteenth President
When mathematician-philosopher John Kemeny became Dartmouth's 13th president, he anticipated that his first major preoccupations would be student unrest and coeducation. But these issues, he recalled at midpoint of his presidency, "have faded as the financial malaise of the nation and of higher education overshadows all other problems." And he came to rank high among his achievements in office swift grasp and efficient management of the complex financial affairs of the College.
Expounding his "law of opposites," Dero Saunders '35, executive editor of Forbes magazine, commented recently on academician Kemeny's financial acumen and went on to predict that "Dartmouth's 14th president might well be a man from the business community, skilled in business administration, who would end up prizing most his, contributions to the academic life of the College."
"People often seem to prize not the things they are expected to do well but their achievements in less expected fields," Saunders added in amplification of his "law of opposites." "Remember that the most important civil-rights legislation in history was passed during the presidency of a southerner, and that the great rapprochement with China occurred under the leadership of our greatest China-hater."
When the trustees of the College chose David T. McLaughlin '54, their outgoing chairman, as 14th president, they entrusted the immediate future of the College to a man who has made his mark in the business world, most recently as chairman and chief executive officer of the Toro Company of Bloomington, Minnesota. Whether Saunders' law holds true remains to be seen, but McLaughlin has long devoted his considerable talents and keen insight to every facet of the life of the College.
Several years ago, McLaughlin related in an interview with Nation's Business magazine, he was offered an administrative position at the Tuck School, where he received his M.B.A. in 1955. "Then I recalled something the president, also a close friend, once told me: 'Never return unless you can bring enough knowledge to offer the College something.' "
Although the president-elect decided at that time that "I really did not have enough," he brings now to the College long years of managerial experience, augmented by deep involvement as an alumnus, enduring concern with higher education evidenced by service to this and other institutions, and as intimate a knowledge of the workings of Dartmouth as possible for any other than the occupant of the secondfloor office on the southeast corner of Parkhurst Hall. A trustee whose term has roughly coincided with the Kemeny incumbency, McLaughlin has chaired the board' since he succeeded F. William Andres '29 in 1977.
By his own appraisal, he brings to the leadership of the College, as his chief managerial assets: "Dealing with conflict the healthy conflict found in sound companies; working within the management structure to bring about the best decision without having to make the decision myself; and challenging others to see if our goals are high enough or if there is a better way of doing something." As shortcomings, he concedes tendencies to focus too sharply on a single subject and at times to "take on more than I should." He admits, too, that "on things that are not too important but have a high nuisance value, I probably have a lower boiling point than I should."
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, McLaughlin came to Dartmouth despite the blandishments of his congressman, Gerald R. Ford, who sought to recruit him to play football for the University of Michigan. Once in Hanover, he proved himself on the gridiron, setting records as a receiver that stood until 1976 and in just about every arena Dartmouth offered. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, to Casque and Gauntlet, to Green Key, and to Palaeopitus. He won the Barrett Cup in 1954 for all-round achievement.
McLaughlin's accomplishments on the football field did not escape the notice of the pros, and he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. "My dad advised me that I could wear my Phi Beta Kappa key from my chinstrap, but that wouldn't be a very good place for it," he remembers. "I got the message."
After two years as an Air Force pilot, McLaughlin joined Champion Papers, Inc., where he remained in positions of increasing responsibility until he went to Toro as president in 1970. He became chairman of the board in 1977. Toro sales increased dramatically during most of the seventies, but, battered in the last two years by dry summers and snowless winters that have dealt harshly with the market for lawn mowers and snow blowers, the firm has recently announced a program of severe retrenchment.
McLaughlin was selected from a final trio who had emerged from close to 400 men and women nominated for the Dartmouth presidency. In a special meeting over Washington's birthday weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston, site of John Kemeny's selection also, the full Board of Trustees met with its own selection committee and members of the faculty-studentalumni advisory committee, interviewed candidates, conferred amongst themselves, then voted to offer McLaughlin the position. He accepted, returned to Minneapolis to announce his decision to Toro directors on Monday, then executed a fast reverse, coming back to Hanover to meet with the faculty and other members of the Dartmouth community Tuesday afternoon.
At a special faculty meeting Monday, February 23, senior trustee Ralph Lazarus '35 announced the decision to an expectant crowd packing the seats and lining the walls of Alumni Hall. Secrecy had been impeccably kept throughout the long search process, although McLaughlin's name had appeared on most guess-lists.
Richard D. Hill '4l, a member of the trustees' search committee, outlined the search procedures, then Lazarus took over to describe what went on behind closed doors at the Ritz before "the trustees voted overwhelmingly in favor of David McLaughlin, a man of great moral character, great determination, and a unique leader." Then Kemeny paid tribute to his successor: "a wonderful person, a person who understands Dartmouth, who understands the College not in the superficial sense, but who understands the College of today, a man of great sensitivity with a deep concern for human beings." Others, said Kemeny, have tried to steal McLaughlin from Toro, "but only the call from Dartmouth had priority."
David McLaughlin was asked by the Nations Business reporter in late 1979 whether he had ever fantasized over living in a different age. "I suppose," he replied. "I sometimes think I would like to have lived in the West during the 1800s, when pioneers were taming that frontier. I relate to the pioneering spirit. There were great opportunities and challenges. . . ." He will find them at Dartmouth, too.
Above: the president and president-elect,posing moments after the trustee decision.
