The President's In-box

What are the concerns of President Freedman's new constituency? To find out, the Alumni Magazine asked faculty members, administrators and students to describe the issues that affect them. A few rare souls had nothing to say. Others did not have time to respond, or thought this article was an improper place for them "to expose them- selves" to the new president. Those who did respond reveal the range of issues that the new president will face.

FROM: David T. McLaughlin

1. Sometime in the foreseeable future Dartmouth ought to consider a major new development initiative. My administration tried to assist in that realization by helping to define some of the priorities of the institution. That has been the primary motivation for the whole Planning and Priorities System in which we have been engaged in for almost two years.

2. Another set of challenges will involve fostering increased multi-disciplinary work, and collaboration across departments. Issues of society, technology and science certainly are more complex than they have ever been before, That will require providing the faculty with incentives to reach beyond the normal disciplinary boundaries of their own professions.

3. The decision has already been made to relocate the medical school, hospital and clinic to a site three miles outside of Hanover. The emerging challenges will manifest themselves in defining the role of the medical school in the future as a close partner of the medical center on one side, but still a viable academic associate of the arts and sciences on this campus.

4. A master plan must be developed that makes productive, efficient and intelligent use of the resources that will be made available north of the campus after the medical center moves.

FROM: Gordon V. DeWitt

Director of Facilities Planning

During the next few years several major facility needs will have to be addressed. Among these are:

1. A new facility and major renovation of Bradley Hall for the Math/Computer Sciences Department.

2. New space and major renovations for the Fairchild Physical Sciences Center.

3. Adaptation of the hospital complex.

4. Major new construction and renovation of Baker Library.

5. The Molecular Genetics program may need more space in the next few years.

6. The Psychology Department should be reunited in new or renovated space.

7. Expansion of the peripheral parking and busing program and removal of parking from some on-campus areas and relocation of traffic around campus.

8. The Ad Hoc Committee on Residential Life, headed by Professor Wright, has recommended changes in dormitory and dining facilities, as well as expansion and reconfiguration of the student center facilities, possibly combining facilities in Robinson, Collis and Thayer.

9. Completion of the Tuck School facility expansion.

In addition, a campus-wide landscaping plan should be implemented in the medium term.

FROM: The Editorial Board of

The Dartmouth

Some of the issues facing Freedman include:

1. The College's Alma Mater: The Student Assembly's ad hoc committee chose to avoid generating controversy and put off a real decision on "Men of Dartmouth" for the next two years. Freedman must balance the desires of those who seek a gender-neutral song with the strong attachment to the song that the majority of undergradu- ates feel.

2. Residential Life: Any implementation of the Wright Report, which has called for drastic change in the fraternity system and a bolstering of the dormitory clusters, will begin by the fall. Freedman must ensure that the existing social structure, in which the fraternities play the overriding role, is not cut back until adequate alternatives exist.

3. Sexism: Freedman must become familiar with women's complaints of sexism at the College and play a strong role in addressing them. He should also read and act on the report requested by the deans on the proposed women's resource center.

4. Administrative Weaknesses: Administrators have been bailing out at an alarming rate. Freedman will need to assemble a fresh team willing to tackle problems at Dartmouth without the jaundiced, jaded viewpoint that many an administrator has held after several years in Hanover. In light of this turnover rate, Freedman would do well to retain the experienced Dean of the College Edward Shanahan. Freedman also faces general student perceptions that the administration acts deceptively and deviously. A policy of openness with the student body would allay such widespread fears.

5. Dartmouth in the Next Twelve Years: As the year 2000 approaches, plans are in the works for the development and growth of every facet of the College. Freedman must seek to allow Dartmouth to expand and improve without eliminating or neglecting the institution's overriding liberal arts mission.

FROM: Leonard M. Rieser

Director, Dickey Endowment for International Understanding

The Faculty Committee Advisory to the Director addressed a letter to the Presidential Search Committee emphasizing"... how critical it is that Dartmouth be seen as an institution with major commitment to a global perspective in all its programs, both on campus and off, as well as in its connections throughout the world. We feel particularly that the presence of foreign students on campus and the continuing development of our programs in other countries should be a central manifestation of this commitment. In addition, we would like to encourage (1) an expansion of opportunities at the faculty level and (2) an environment in Hanover which will give our students the sense that they are graduating well prepared to become part of a world community."

We are, of course, most gratified that, in selecting you as President, the Trustees have chosen an individual who has demonstrated this commitment.

FROM: William Summers

Associate Professor of Music

Striving for academic excellence is our main job here and Dartmouth should be doing more in the way of promoting it. For instance we should publish the honor roll, the names of senior fellows and winners of academic honors. The campus media should run, on a regular basis, feature stories about the scholarly work done by both students and faculty (who is writing a book, Guggenheim awards, etc.). Learning more about a faculty member's work outside the classroom might help inspire a student's own academic initiative.

FROM: Kirk Endicott

Associate Professor of Anthropology

I was pleased to hear that the Trustees are now anxious to improve the academic atmosphere and reputation of the College. Of course these two go hand-in-hand: if we can acquire a reputation for academic excellence, we will be able to attract those students who are academically oriented, who now either do not apply here or who are admitted but go elsewhere. Having a large number of such students would, in turn, raise the status of scholarly pursuits in the eyes of the student body. (Many students now are embarrassed to study hard and even go to the extreme of doing so only in secret.)

FROM: Matthew Wiencke

Classics Professor, Advisor to Zeta Psi Fraternity

There is no question in my mind that the use of alcohol is the major problem of this college. Students here feel it is a private right to go out and get drunk. During the past year I've had the experience of visiting such colleges as Swarthmore, Haverford and St. Olaf College with my son and they don't have an alcohol problem to the extent Dartmouth College does. Until something is done, we will be spending thousands of dollars in counseling and alcoholic rehabilitation. I submit to you that Dartmouth is a place of learning, not an alcohol rehabilitation center.

FROM: Rogers Elliot

Psychology Professor

This institution is wasting its strength in hesitant fits and starts trying to decide what it wants to be: more of the small research university that we have to some extent become; or more of a sort of upper-level prep school, with 24-hour care and supervision under the supportive, but very watchful, eyes of deans and masters. Faculty involvement in student life (beyond what is personal, elective, invitational, and wholly noncoercive) will be a distraction, another call away from the' proper duties of the office of teacher and scholar. The intellectual purposes of this place are precious, but they are in constant competition with far more tempting activities including the discussion of personal and social conduct and conflicts...

FROM: Shelton Stanfill

Director, Hopkins Center

On a recent trip to Kansas City, Des Moines and Omaha, I spoke to alumni on the Hopkins Center's upcoming 25th anniversary. Strangely enough, in private, when conversations with alumni shifted away from the Hopkins Center to College news in general, I didn't get a single question about the alma mater, the safer sex kit, or the Ernest Martin Hopkins Institute—three of the hot campus topics during the past year. Instead, alumni queries were more personal in nature.

"Is Prof. Wysocki still teaching?" He is.

"Does the Film Society still bring important guests to the College the way it used to when Maury Rapf '35 ran the show?" It does.

"Have you spoken with Warner Bentley recently?" I have.

Another topic of interest was the presidential succession. The alumni I met exuded a sincere regional pride that the Trustees had selected a Big Ten president for the College's top job. The message from these alumni was: "The Midwest thinks Dartmouth will be in good hands."

FROM: Ted Leland

Director of Athletics

The following recommendations are based on the Athletic Planning Committee report:

1. The College must remain totally committed to full Ivy League athletic participation. Athletic recruitment, when executed properly, is a necessary and legitimate undertaking.

2. All admissions decisions must rest within the Admissions Office, but athletic talent is a legitimate, positive trait that should be considered.

3. The College should support the three-term physical education requirement.

4. Club sports are a valuable part of the Dartmouth College Athletic Council (DCAC) offerings and have unique educational characteristics.

5. The operational budget of the DCAC is currently adequate.

6. The College should consider establishing a center and provide funding for the academic study of sport.

FROM: Margaret Otto

Librarian of the College

Although Dartmouth is rich in library resources by northern New England standards, we have modest holdings relative to peer academic institutions. We are living in a period characterized by an information explosion which translates into dramatic increases in publication, not only in traditional hard-copy formats but also in a proliferation of electronic formats used in scholarly communication. To meet this challenge we need to increase the library endowment by $5 million.

Another of the library's most pressing concerns is the need for additional space and, for upgrades of existing

space. Changes in the library environment that have occurred since Baker was built in 1929 dictate that: • A northwest wing be added to Baker to serve as the twenty-first century scholarly information center.

• Webster Hall be renovated to house special collections

FROM: Bill Grace '89 and John Sutter '88

Contributors to the Dartmouth Review

The absence of any consistently enforced policy has hampered efforts to promote the free and stimulating exchange of ideas on campus. Several measures should be taken immediately to reestablish freedom of speech in this academic environment.

Free Speech

The Hovey Murals should be uncovered. The Rollins Chapel windows should be displayed. The President should allow all banners to be displayed at College athletic events.

The president should institute a committee of students and faculty with a demonstrated commitment to free speech in order to formulate an explicit policy on the right of all community members to free speech.

Curriculum

Increased requirements in the study of the Western heritage should be instituted.

Increased requirements in the study of the Western heritage should be instituted. All students should be required to demonstrate proficiency in writing and composition.

The curriculum should be focused toward forming a good basic liberal arts foundation before proceeding on to further specialization.

Public Figure

On another front, a major criticism of David T. McLaughlin was his remoteness from students, faculty and other members of the Dartmouth community. The president of the College should be a visible and public figure. To do this he must establish a visible presence on campus.

He should walk to work as much as possible.

He should make surprise visits to fraternities and dormitories.

He should occasionally dine at Thayer,

FROM: Jacquelynn Baas

Director, Hood Museum

The most pressing need with regard to the 40,000-object collection is lack of adequate study-storage space. We are seeking funding to meet the needs of the collections.

It is anticipated that the cleaning and consolidation of Dartmouth's Orozco mural will cost over $50,000, and that the installation of climate control and better lighting in the reserve reading room will add $100,000.

The museum's annual acquisition funding lags behind that of comparable institutions. The Hood spends about $60,000, compared to Princeton's $527,000, University of Kansas', $236,000, Cornell's $200,000, Harvard's $180,000, Bowdoin's $200,000, and Williams' $125,000. Clearly this is an area that needs to be addressed if the Hood Museum is to be a vital and responsive institution.

FROM: James F. Poage

Vice Provost for Computing

Dartmouth has the resources and staff to initiate a project that would allow each dorm room or office to share access to information enabling all to learn, teach or administer more effectively. What is needed is a major cooperative effort involving the Library, Computing Services, and other sources of information on campus, coupled with the significant support from the federal government or other funding sources.

The project we propose would not only serve the College but could establish Dartmouth as a regional information resource of incomparable status.

FROM: Stephen Nelson

Director of Student Activities

A missing component of Dartmouth's effort to alleviate the alcohol problem is a Student Assistance Program. Students who get into academic or disciplinary trouble because of alcohol would be referred to this program, which would last four to six weeks. It would encourage individuals to confront the role alcohol plays in their lives and to reflect on some of the drug's other consequences.