President McLaughlin announces resignation

At the conclusion of last month's State of the College address David McLaughlin announced his intention to step down as Dartmouth's 14th president "after the next commencement and at such time as a successor is inaugurated." McLaughlin, who has served as president since 1981, said personal reasons made him unable to commit himself to another decade in office. "It is increasingly clear to me that during the next decade, Dartmouth will be best served by having a continuity of leadership. There should not be a changing of the guard midway through these efforts to consolidate the significant gains of the recent years and assemble the resources needed to assure Dartmouth's future," he said, referring to the planning and priorities project that was completed this year and that outlines the College's direction up to the next century.

Norman "Sandy" McCulloch Jr. '50, chairman of the Board of Trustees, called the timing of McLaughlin's resignation "one more example of his total commitment to the College." In a statement released after the speech, the Trustees accepted McLaughlin's decision "with regret." Later in the week the Board met to establish the criteria for the search process.

Following the president's speech, the faculty gave him a standing ovation. McLaughlin and McCulloch later met with the press in the Hanover Inn where McLaughlin said that his decision was made over a period of months and that he had discussed it "in great depth" with the Trustees during their August retreat. In response to a question on how the events of the last year had affected his decision, McLaughlin denied they were a factor. "The events of last winter were obviously difficult," the President said, and he restated that his decision was influenced by looking at the future and not the past. He added, "I would never voluntarily resign under stressful conditions unless it was in agreement with the Trustees, and that does not exist today." McLaughlin noted that the current conditions of "good will" make this an opportune time for departure.

The 54-year-old president also reiterated that his decision to resign was strictly personal, but he did not elaborate other than to say the a decade-long commitment to the office was more than he and his family were prepared to make and that this should not be construed as anything less than total affection for the College. "I think it is in the College's interest to have in the presidency (for the next decade) somebody who is going at it enthusiastically with a certain kind of dedication that perhaps one coming into the job can have."

McLaughlin also used the State of the College address to touch on the high points of the past year. Among them: •The Thayer School expansion project. •The completion of the Hood Museum. •Research grants totalling $26.2 million. •Significant increases in faculty salaries. •An agreement to move the medical school to a site off Route 120.

•Dartmouth's strong financial base.

On this final point the president stated that "Dartmouth has never been in a stronger condition." The president praised the achievements of the development office, the Alumni Fund, and the scholarship endowment, which respectively have raised $40 million, $ll million, and $5 million. Looking at the budget, the College recorded a surplus of $20,000 in fiscal 1986. Finally, the president noted: "Of long term significance, on June 30 the College's endowment was $521 million, the highest level achieved in real and deflated terms."

McLaughlin, a member of the class of 1954 and a Tuck School graduate, was chairman of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees and chairman and chief executive officer of Toro Company before being named to the presidency of Dartmouth.

President David McLaughlin in front of Parkhurst Hall.

Despite the fact that I am deeply devoted to the College and am immensely proud of her institutional accomplishments, I am not prepared to commit, irrevocably, ten or more additional years to the presidency." —From the text of President Mclaughlin's speech to the faculty on October 6, 1986.

President McLaughlin announced his resignation just a few days before the November issueof the Alumni Magazine went to press. Futureissues will include news of related developments.