Alumni Council

It is my pleasure to inaugurate the Alumni Council's semiannual column in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Twice a year the president of the council will use this space for a brief update on the last council meeting and specific areas of activity that are of interest to alumni. In this issue I want to give you an overview of the council and provide some quick highlights of the last meeting as well as cover issues on which we are currently focusing.

The council is comprised of approximately 100 alumni and includes representatives selected by classes, clubs and affiliated groups. The exact makeup is governed by our constitution and is intended to provide representation for all alumni; through one linkage or another, there should be someone on the council that you know or can reach easily. It is not easy for 100 to represent more than 65,000 people! One of the ways we try to do that is by soliciting comments and feedback before each council meeting and by communicating council notes after the fact. Each councilor serves a three-year term, with a third of the councilors rotating off in any given year. The entire Alumni Council meets in Hanover twice a year, in December and in May, for two days, and there are committee conference calls or meetings on an as-needed basis outside of these regular meeting dates.

There were several highlights of our December meeting that I want to share with you. The entire council met with five of our trustees—Karen Francis '84, Nancy Jeton '76, Ed Haldeman '70, Brad Evans '64 and Al Mulley '70—as part of the boards focus this year on strengthening alumni relations and communications. We also heard from Joe Stevenson '57, who is the chairman of the Alumni Governance Task Force, a group of dedicated alumni who are seeking to improve how our alumni organizations work and the way they are governed. Another highlight of the weekend was a gala celebration honoring 50 years of the Alumni Award. Eighty past winners of this award were in attendance, including our oldest living recipient, Hal Ripley '29.

During each meeting councilors connect with what is happening today on campus. We meet with members of the administration, students and faculty to hear about the opportunities as well as the challenges faced by Dartmouth in an increasingly competitive world. This year the Alumni Council is also targeting three other areas for more focused effort. The first is the alumni governance issue highlighted above. The second is support for strategic planning to strengthen the financial foundation of the Alumni Magazine and to reduce the financial burden on class treasuries. The third is to provide an interactive forum for alumni to hear directly from and contribute to the discussion with key Dartmouth administrators on specific issues. In late January a Webcast, sponsored by the council, was held on "The Role of Athletics and Football at Dartmouth." It is our intention to have more of these topical sessions over time.

One of the most important duties of the Alumni Council is to produce a slate of nominees for our board of trustees. This year we have two openings on the board (half of the trustees are elected by the alumni) and four outstanding nominees. We encourage you to exercise the right you have as alumni and vote. More information can be found on the alumni relations Web site, www.alumni.dartmouth.edu/leadership/ trustee-cand-announce.htm.

The council's objectives are to represent the broad alumni base; be well informed about issues important to alums; communicate these points of view to administration, faculty and students; and, finally, provide a view of todays Dartmouth to the alumni body. It is truly an exciting, vibrant community that continues to produce exceptional graduates.

President, AlumniCouncil