Dr. Wheelock's Journal
In a speech to the Faculty of Arts & Sciences last month, new Faculty Dean Jim Wright almost made Dartmouth sound like a work of art: "Commitment to the human sense of scale and proportion on this campus" is what helps make the institution unique, he said. Wright went on to affirm the Dartmouth Plan of year- round operation and four short tenweek terms. He welcomed a debate on the core curriculum, which he said "would be timely and positive regardless of its outcome." And he made a swipe at grade inflation—at Dartmouth, the mean grade-point average hovers above a "B." Wright urged an increase in the number of tenuretrack faculty, though not necessarily in the number of teaching positions. The dean would like to see fewer courses taught by visiting professors. While he wants a "sharp reduction" in the amount of committees faculty sit on, Wright encouraged maintaining a balance between research and teaching. "Any suggestion that one of them is secondary to the other is misleading as well as mischievous," he said.
Later in the month, President Freedman brought the faculty up to date on the College's progress toward three areas he has emphasized in the past: admissions, the intellectual environment, and international education. He noted that the proportion of women students is increasing, that the College made seven senior appointments to the faculty during the last academic year, that two new directors have taken over the Hop and Hood, and that the Presidential Scholars Program is now on a "firmer footing" with some of Dartmouth's finest students being offered research assistant- ships with faculty. On the international front, during the last two years the College added Hebrew, Japanese, and Arabic to the curriculum and opened foreign-study programs in Padua, Queretaro, and Rio de Janeiro.
Freedman also dealt with Dartmouth's future. His summary statement defines Dartmouth's niche: "The course of the College remains today what it always has been: to introduce our students to the life of the mind and to stretch them, by our teaching and our example, to the fullest reach of their intellectual, emotional, and moral capacities. So long as we remain true to that course, we will find our role within the larger universe of institutions, nationally and internationally, and meet our responsibility of preserving all that is valuable in the Dartmouth experience."
We got a call from Lisa Tucker '89 the other week. She gently informed us that we didn't quite get it right when we described in the summer Letters column an AIDS-education "road show" that students perform in the dorms. So we asked her to fill us in on the full story. Lisa was a drama major who performed in road shows as a senior. Currently a language teacher at Miss Porter's School, she plans next year to get a degree in public health and devote her career to teaching about AIDS. Her account follows: AIDS could be a serious health threat for people aged 20 to 2 9—some experts project the disease as the leading cause of death in this group by 1991. Preliminary studies by the American College Health Association hint at the danger: two out of every 1,000 college students tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.
At Dartmouth, we know of no students currently infected with the virus, although some alums have died from complications caused by AIDS. There are several reasons for this. Hanover is in New Hampshire, a state that has yet to be hit as hard as others. We have an excellent anonymous HIV testing center at Mary Hitchcock, where students can find out whether or not they carry the virus without its appearing on their records. And an outstanding campus group is teaching people at Dartmouth and across the country how to avoid the virus by practicing communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
The group, called Responsible AIDS Information at Dartmouth (RAID), was founded in 1987 by four '88s. Knowing that a large percentage of college students are sexually active, the founders wanted to point out that abstinence is a valid and safe choice. Most of all, however, they wanted to get students talking: about AIDS, about sexuality, and about how their sexual practices affect their lives. Working with Health Education Director Beverlie Conant Sloane, the group designed a one-hour road show to be performed in dormitories and houses by teams of trained students. For 45 minutes, a team acts out four or five skits in which college students might find themselves. Scenarios range from two students who want to get to know each other before having sex, to a couple who are involved in a longterm relationship, to two people who want to have sex on their first date. In each instance, the team gives possible approaches to talking about that most difficult of topics—sex and protection. Two actors perform as role models, showing ways to discuss whether to have sex at all, and—if the decision is made to go ahead—whether to practice safer sex. The audience gets into the act for the rest of the session, discussing what makes the decisions dif- ficult. The organization believes that this forum helps to demystify sexuality so that students feel more comfortable making personal decisions and communicating their feelings.
The show includes a short slide presentation about clinical aspects of the disease. The team tells where to go for help and guidance, and demonstrates proper ways to use condoms and rubber dams. For instance, the group gets members of the audience to practice putting condoms on their fingers. Throughout the presentation, audience members are invited to jump in with comments and questions. One of the best sessions I can recall as a former member of RAID was with an audience of parents of freshmen. At first the crowd seemed unexcited at the prospect of a session on sexuality, but a lively discussion period at the end made the show run over by 45 minutes.
Though some critics fear that frank discussion might encourage students to have sex, extensive studies have shown that organized sex education does not make students more promiscuous. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop '37 has spoken of the need for explicit information and education about AIDS.
At Dartmouth, RAID seems to be making a difference. A recent campus survey showed that among the sexually active students who responded, those who had seen the road show were significantly more likely to be practicing safer sex or abstinence than those who had not.
RAID's reputation extends far beyond Hanover. The program has been covered in the Chronicle of Higher Education and The New York Times and on the Today Show. Students have given presentations before an American College Health Association Conference, at an international convention in Paris, and at more than 25 colleges and universities across the country. Most notably, RAID was chosen to give a session at the 1989 International AIDS Conference in Montreal in front of an audience of more than 600 health professionals from around the world; organizers declared the Dartmouth group the day's best presentation for that section.
The members of RAID have met health professionals, people with AIDS, and students at other universities who are involved with the cause. And they have had the chance to change attitudes and to help save lives at Dartmouth.
Nota Bene
• Chemistry Professor David Lemal has been named New Hampshire Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support for Education. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching, scholarship, and service to a college. Two years ago Lemal, an organic chemist, was one of six national winners of the Chemical Manufacturers Association's Catalyst Awards for excellence in teaching and chemical engineering.
• Dartmouth ranked eighth among top national universities in U.S. News & World Report's latest list. The magazine surveyed college presidents and other academic experts and used data supplied by the schools. Factors included student selectivity, instructional quality, academic reputation, student retention rates, and financial resources. Yale came in first for the second year in a row, followed by Princeton and Harvard. The College ranked seventh in faculty quality, besting most of the research-oriented schools—including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and M.I.T.
• Dartmouth's salaries for faculty are the second-lowest in the Ivy League, according to the American Association of University Professors. Average pay for all instructors at Dartmouth is $50,660. The most generous school in the Ivies is the University of Pennsylvania, averaging $57,114. The stingiest: Columbia, with $50,000. When benefits are factored in, Dartmouth ranks sixth among the Ancient Eight, with a total package averaging $70,846. The top-paying schools in the nation are outside the Ivy League. Duke's salaries and benefits average $73,081. At Stanford the package is $71,321.
The faculty dean and the president describe Dartmouth's niche, while a former drama major acts to battle a plague.
