Alumni Council
The most important news I have to share with you is that the Alumni Council voted to confirm an outstanding slate of alumni trustee candidates at its 193 rd meeting in December. Balloting for a new member of the Dartmouth board of trustees (who will replace retiring trustee Nancy Jeton '76) will run from April 1 to May 15.1 urge you to participate.
The council nominating committeecomposed of 12 alumni with a wide range of professions, beliefs, ethnicity, class years and cultural and regional backgrounds—spent more than a year considering and reviewing approximately 300 suggestions submitted by you and other alumni. The process is exhaustive, judicious, and 100 percent alumni-driven.
The final candidates include "Sandy" Alderson '69, Sherri Oberg '82 Tu '86, and John Wolf '70. All three are accomplished and passionate alumni and the nominating committee believes unequivocally that each would make an outstanding trustee. They are independent thinkers, have demonstrated consensus-building skills, value all types of diversity and are fiercely committed to preserving Dartmouth's unique undergraduate experience. They will maintain strong academic, athletic and social opportunities for todays students as they steward Dartmouth for future generations. To view their individual platforms and statements, and to keep abreast of ongoing election news, visit www.voxthevote.org.
Dartmouth alumni select their trustee candidate using the approval voting method. Alumni may vote for as many candidates as they would like to support. The candidate who receives the most votes wins formal nomination. So it is extremely important to vote for any and all candidates that you believe will serve the College well in the role of trustee. The success of the approval method of voting is predicated on the voters selecting all of the candidates they want to support.
Dartmouth trustees appoint the president, determine the College's mission, review the ed- ucational program, approve the institutions budget and manage the endowment. This is a hardworking board—the smallest in the Ivy League. Clearly, your choices will help shape Dartmouth's future. In the last trustee election 24 percent of eligible alumni cast ballots. This spring I hope that alumni participation will set a new record for trustee balloting, and that we will at least meet the 38 percent participation threshold established during the 2006 vote on the alumni constitution.
And speaking of the constitution, there was much thoughtful discussion about alumni governance during the December council meeting and great appreciation expressed to the nearly 40 percent of eligible alumni who took time to cast a vote. Another important issue that emerged from these conversations was that many alumni do not understand how to become involved as an alumni councilor or what the primary responsibilities of the council include.
The Alumni Council needs to do a better job of communicating its role as an information pipeline between the College and her alumni. We will do our best to do that as we urge you to learn more about the Dartmouth of today. Please take the time to go to www.alumni.dartmouth.edu on a regular basis and click on the council site. Read The DailyD at www.thedartmouth.com and learn the facts about events on campus. Dartmouth Life and Speaking of Dartmouth give us other insights into the activities of students and faculty. Visit www.dartmouthsports.com for the latest news on Big Green teams. The more we engage with the College, the more we realize just how strong and vibrant this institution is that we all share, and the better prepared we are to support and enhance the experiences of current and future students.
'76 Kenwood Road, Baltimore, MD 21210; (410) 467-9945; marthabeattie76@msn.com
