Mathias Wins AoA Election
IN THE ASSOCIATION OF Alumni (AoA) elections this spring, the anti-lawsuit candidates won an overwhelming victory over a slate of alumni who wished to see the suit brought by the previous AoA executive committee proceed. (At issue: maintaining an equal number of alumni-elected and board-appointed trustees.)
John Mathias '69, a partner at Jenner and Block in Chicago, won the presidency of the association and immediately moved to drop the suit. DAM's Sean Plottner caught up with him shortly afterward.
So the lawsuit is kaput?
It has been dismissed. No problem.
Why did you run?
I couldn't sit idly by any longer and not speak up. It seemed to me there was a faction of so-called insiders who were cast as bad and then there were the outsiders, who called themselves independents, the good alumni. That didn't add up for me.
What do the election results tell you?
It's dangerous to read too much into results, but I think the majority of alumni wanted the fighting to end. They want us to cooperate with one another and move forward together, as we should.
How do you respond to charges made by former AoA executive committee member Frank Gado '58 that your side engaged in "smear tactics" during the campaign?
For him to contend that he did not knowwhat John MacGoverris Hanover Institute was doing in the way of funding the lawsuit is implausible. He's an officer with the institute! We contend there were also non-Dartmouth sources of funding—and that all alumni have the right to know who is paying. Frank has denied it, but you'll find it was true.
Where was the money comingfrom?
There's a pretty strong indication that before this lawsuit was filed John Mac Govern '80 was introducing non-Dartmouth financiers to Williams and Connelly [the firm that filed the suit for the AoA], I would be stunned to learn that ACTA [Lynne Cheneys American Council of Trustees and Alumni] wasn't involved from the get go. There's more to that story.
Have you heard of anyalumni who may try torevive the lawsuit?
Suing each other is no way to resolve disputes about College governance. In 35 years I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands, of lawsuits resolved by adjudication or settlement, but not in a single case did the parties smile and shake hands. At the end of the day no one is happy. But that's not suitable at Dartmouth, where we have to live with one another at the end of the day. The AoA suit was a train wreck.
What reactions have youheard in the wake of theelections?
Folks are very positive about this. Celebratory. Some can't believe it after all the drumbeats of negativity. Especially when ads ran in The Wall StreetJournal. It was a negative campaing in the national press to influence public opinion, and that's nothing but harmful.
Will the new AoA officers consider pushing for more alumni-elected trustees?
All members of the board are alumni. As for more being elected, I think that's a fair subject to talk to the board about.
John Mathias '69
OVERHEARD
"I'm glad this political disturbance is behind us, and I really do hope that in our next board meeting we can spend our time working on the business of the College." -TRUSTEE T.J. RODGERS '70 ON THE RECENT ASSOCIATION OF ALUMNI ELECTION AND SUBSEQUENT DROPPING OF THE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE COLLEGE
