Consultant scrutinizes communications

Gerald Horton, a consultant under retainer to the New York-based advertising firm of Ogilvy and Mather, was hired by President McLaughlin to study how well the College communicates with the members of its immediate and extended community. An offshoot of last winter's turmoil was learning that the College's communications to its various constituencies, including alumni, were not always as informative and timely as they might have been. McLaughlin told The Dartmouth, "Dartmouth was always somewhat behind the cycle." Horton will determine if "Dartmouth could have presented itself better."

Alex Huppé, director of the College News Service, elaborated on Horton's task. "We did not hire him to do a national campaign, but to do research," he said. Huppe called Horton's task a communications audit, which he defined as an "as attempt to monitor and evalute channels, messages, and the communication climate of an organization." Although an audit usually includes internal and external communications, Horton's will focus primarily on external communications. A portion of Horton's work involves interviews with alumni, faculty, and administrators. He also will look at the various avenues of communication that exist between alumni and the College.