Report from the Council
Last month I indicated that 94 members of the Alumni Council serve on 15 standing committees. Each councilor serves on an average of two committees, but several serve as members of ad hoc committees or as exofficio members of select committees. (For instance, this year, as president of the Council, I serve on five standing and two ad hoc committees, plus three trustee committees.)
The executive committee is responsible for the organization of the semiannual Council meetings, the initiation of amendments to the constitution and other resolutions to be voted on by the Council, and overall policy decision making. It meets at least four times per year (typically in New York, Boston, or Hanover), with additional meetings as necessary.
The executive committee is composed of the president and president-elect of the Council, the chairmen of all 15 standing committees, and three councilors appointed at-large by the president. The executive committee members for the 1987-88 year are: Stephen M. Mullins '54, President (Chairman) Russell A. Boss '61, President-elect and Alumni Fund Mary E. Cleary '79, Academic Affairs Joseph D. Robinson IV '65, Alumni Continuing Education Christopher T. Jenny '77, Athletics Allen S. Brush '35, Bequests & Trusts; Honorary Degrees Geoffrey S. Edelson '80, Class Organization A. Wayne Givens '60, Communications Donald P. Graves '66, Enrollment & Admissions Albert T.T. Cook Jr. '62, Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Norman Olsen Jr. '56, Regional Organization Cheryl A. Bascomb '82, Student Life Nancy Kepes Jeton '76, Young Alumni William H. Carpenter '50, Member-at-Large Michael A. Choukas Jr. '51, Secretary The nominating committee is probably the second most important committee of the Alumni Council. In addition to three exofficio members (see below), there are six members elected from the floor of the council, each for two-year terms. Al Cook, 1986-87 chairman of the nominating committee, has provided this summary of the committee's mission and activities:
Dartmouth has a well-established legendary record of alumni involvement and affection that is unparalleled among other institutions of higher education. Inculcated as undergraduates, the relationship grows mutually stronger and more important as the alumni years progress. Not only do most alumni harbor strong desires to support the College, but the College has many service and leadership needs that its alumni can uniquely fulfill. The College remains "a small College ..." with a small Board of Trustees, necessitating the best use of volunteer talents of its alumni.
The Dartmouth Alumni Council has a unique mission to both the College and its alumni to provide a vehicle for communication and service. The special role of the nominating committee is to identify leadership for the many needs of the Council and College. The nominating committee is responsible for submitting a nominee for Alumni Trustee on the Board of Directors, which is considered by the Council and submitted to the Association of Alumni and the Trustees for their election. Given the increasingly diverse undergraduate and alumni body of the College, the nominating committee has established a rigorously thorough process of seeking input from the College constituencies.
In a similar fashion, the nominating committee seeks broad input for other leadership opportunities, including the four undergraduate positions, the 24 at-large positions, the members of the nominating committee itself, and the president of the Council. For 1987-88, the members of the nominating committee are: Albert T.T. Cook Jr. '62 (Chairman) Stephen M. Mullins '54 (President of the Council) Russell A. Boss '61 (President-elect) Peggy Epstein Tanner '79 (Former chair of the committee) George H. Colton '35 J. Clayton Hering '63 J. Murry Bowden'71 Nancy Kepes Jeton '76 Mary E. Cleary '79 Michael Choukas Jr. '51 (Secretary)
Next month two more Alumni Council committees will be featured in this column. By then, I will have greeted great throngs of you at Dartmouth Night festivities. Lest I miss you there, I know you join me in wishing Buddy Teevens and his team a highly successful season.
President, Alumni Council
