Trustee Meeting

John Kemeny characterized the regular April meeting of the Board of Trustees as something new - for a change it was, he said, calm and unhurried. It was Kemeny's next-to-last session with the group and for Richard D. Hill '41 it was his first as chairman of the board. In this period of transition, the trustees:

• Re-elected charter trustee Walter Burke '44 for a second five-year term. Kemeny also said that the board elected a charter trustee to succeed the retiring Richard D. Lombard '53, but that the new trustee would not be identified for several more weeks - presumably following the current balloting for alumni trustee.

• Issued a unanimously approved statement that "the trustees have serious concern that unless the procedures for nominating alumni trustees are improved, future balloting contests will needlessly undermine the valued unity of spirit and purpose in the Dartmouth family. Distinguished alumni who are best qualified to serve as trustees may in the future decline to participate as candidates in alumni trustee balloting contests.

"For these reasons, the board has directed the chairman to appoint and chair a committee of trustees to work with the Alumni Council and make recommendations to the board at its November 1981 meeting to improve the process that assures effective alumni representation in the decision-making processes of the College."

• Approved a gross College budget of $103.68 million for 1981-82. Kemeny noted with obvious satisfaction that the budget, which includes such so-called auxiliary activities as ticket sales and the operation of the Hanover Inn, is projected to be in balance. He also noted that Dartmouth was running on about $35 million when he took office. In the final budget adjustment process, the trustees were persuaded to increase funds for book purchases by the library, employee compensation, and restoration of Saturday mail delivery on the campus, which had been a mild cause celeb re among students.

• Endorsed a plan offering to lease houses to Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Sigma Kappa sorority. Two other sororities remain homeless for the time being.

• Approved the permanence of the Committee on Undergraduate Life, with the comment that "the College is committed to operate on the educational philosophy that significant parts of a truly liberal education take place outside of the classroom."

• Signed a contract putting the operation of the Outward Bound program at Dartmouth under the aegis of the Hurricane Island Outward Bound program.

• Announced that the market value of the College's endowment had for the first time passed $250 million and that in the coming year the sum of $5.68 million had been allocated for scholarship funds, an increase of over 26 per cent compared to this year's figure.