Report from the Council

The theme for the 155th meeting of the Council held December 3-5 was "The Challenges of the Nineties." My keynote address specifically highlighted graduate programs expansion, faculty turnover, academic distinction, attraction of scholars, women's issues, support staff salaries and benefits, international programs, and tuition and financial aid. Panels, committees, and programs during the weekend keyed on these themes.

REICH FOR ALUMNI TRUSTEE

To help address these challenges, the Council nominated Robert B. Reich '68 to succeed Norman (Sandy) McCulloch '50 in June 1988 as Alumni Trustee. I considered this an outstanding nomination. Bob Reich is a most eminently qualified alumnus to help lead us into the nineties. His outstanding credentials and academic perspective will be of invaluable service to the Board of Trustees for the next ten years (assuming he serves two five-year terms).

Reich, weaned and raised under the Dartmouth mystique (father Edwin was class of (35), was an outstanding member of his class at Dartmouth (three-time class president, president of the Undergraduate Council and Palaeopitus, Phi Beta Kappa, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, J.D. from Yale, etc). Subsequently he served as assistant solicitor general of the U.S., director of policy planning for the F.T.C., and as a consultant to the Carter and Reagan Administrations. He is currently a professor at the Kennedy School of Government and a lecturer at Harvard Law School. He is widely published (four books, numerous articles), an extremely articulate speaker, and a champion of liberal education.

Of more than 100 suggestions from over 600 alumni letters, Reich was the outstanding candidate in the unanimous opinion of the members of the nominating and trustee search committee. Under the superlative chairmanship of Al Cook '62, this committee met five times during the fall before making its recommendation to the Council on December 3. I urge your hearty support of Bob Reich for our next Alumni Trustee.

ALMA MATER RECOMMENDATION

The Council's ad hoc committee to study the Alma Mater completed its work and issued a report and recommendation to President Freedman as follows:

That the Council endorses the principle of minimal modification of the lyrics and the title of theAlma Mater so that the song will be more inclusive and representative of the men and womenof Dartmouth College.

Further, while it is appropriate that the modified Alma Mater be the version sung at collegefunctions, there should be no institutional effortto discourage those who choose to sing the traditional version of the song.

The hard work of this committee over the past year has been documented consistently in various alumni publications. A copy of the full report is available upon request from the Alumni Affairs Office at 304 Blunt Alumni Center, Hanover, NH 03755.

The several panels held during the Council meeting caught the attention of the 82 members present (87 percent). A Friday morning faculty panel on research at Dartmouth featured Dean of the Faculty Dwight Lahr, Prof. Dick Birnie '66 (Earth Sciences), Asst. Prof. Deborah Nichols (Anthropology), and Prof. Robert Russell (Romance Languages). Mary Turco, acting dean of residential life, chaired a sobering Friday afternoon panel on women's issues featuring women's basketball Coach Jackie Hullah, Co-chair of Women's Studies Mary Kelley, Senior Associate Director of Admissions Holly Sateia, and presidential intern Rosalind Barnes '88.

Trustees George Munroe '43, John Rosenwald '52, and Joe Mathewson '55 (newest Alumni Trustee) participated in a Saturday morning panel dealing with current issues at Dartmouth. In addition, President Freedman delivered a major address to the Council Friday night and participated in an intensive question-and-answer session Saturday morning.

Finally, Thayer School presented an informative program, we received an update on the Medical School move, and the 15 standing committees met.

A sense of excitement permeated the three days because, while the challenges of the nineties are substantial, there was a feeling that Dartmouth will grow even stronger as it meets these challenges under our new president.

We are anxious to share our meeting with all alumni, and I encourage anyone interested to request a copy of the full minutes from the Alumni Affairs office.

President, Alumni Council