Photo of Jim Yong Kim

Prepared Remarks by Search Committee Chair Al Mulley Jr. ’70

Al Mulley Jr.

Thank you, Ed.

It is my privilege to be here with all of you to acknowledge the extraordinary work from across the Dartmouth community that has brought us to this defining moment… one that will help shape the future of the College that is a part of all of us.

Appointing a new president ultimately is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. It is in fact their most important duty. But thousands of men and women of Dartmouth stepped up to engage constructively in the work of choosing the 17th President in the Wheelock succession – students, members of the faculty and staff, and alumni here in Hanover, across the nation, and beyond.

You gave freely of your time, your minds and your hearts…. You told us about your aspirations for the College: (1) to define for all of higher education what a liberal arts education means for the 21st century: and (2) to provide leadership on the world stage by redoubling efforts to form leaders who will rise to meet the great challenges of our time.

We listened carefully, and we regularly reported back what we were hearing. We offered an evocative description of Dartmouth’s distinctiveness in higher education that resonated across the College’s constituencies, as did the qualities of leadership that we would seek in a president, beginning with…

A powerful affinity for and commitment to the mission and the values of Dartmouth College;
A personal commitment to teaching, an affinity for students and a pleasure in their company; and
A commitment to exceptional scholarship, inspiring productivity, and excitement about intellectual inquiry.

We did find such a president and the Trustees believe that the appointment Ed will announce in a few moments is truly the choice of all the people who participated in the search. It was your appreciation of Dartmouth’s legacy and your vision for its future that defined the type of leader we sought and guided our decisions.

At the center of all of the work to make this possible has been a Search Committee comprised of six faculty [nominated by the Committee on Organization and Policy and the professional school deans], the president of the student assembly, and the chair of the Alumni Liaison Committee, as well as six trustees. These committee members, many of whom are here today, include:

Faculty
Joyce DeLeo, professor of anesthesiology and of pharmacology and toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School;
Sydney Finkelstein, the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business;
Gretchen Gerzina, the Kathe Tappe Vernon Professor in Biography and the chair of the Department of English;
Joseph Helble, dean of the Thayer School of Engineering;
Jane Lipson, the Albert W. Smith Professor of Chemistry; and
Jonathan Skinner, the John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences.

Student and Alumni Leaders
Molly Bode '09, president of the Student Assembly; and
Martha Beattie '76, chair of the Alumni Council's Alumni Liaison Committee and past president of the Alumni Council.

Trustees
Bradford Evans '64, managing director of Morgan Stanley and a vice chairman of the firm's Investment Banking Department;
Jose W. Fernandez '77, a partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins and global co-chair of the firm's Latin America practice;
Pamela Joyner '79, the managing partner and founder of Avid Partners;
Stephen Mandel Jr. '78, managing director and portfolio manager at Lone Pine Capital;
Albert Mulley Jr. '70, chief of the General Medicine Division and director of the Medical Practices Evaluation Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of medicine and associate professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School; and
Peter Robinson '79, fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Ed Haldeman, ’70, Board Chair and chairman, Putnam Investments, served as an ex officio member of the Committee.

We received incredible support from Dartmouth’s own John Isaacson of the executive search agency Isaacson Miller and his colleague Kate Barry. Here at the College, Cheryl Reynolds and Laura Hercod were enormously attentive to all whose lives were touched by the search.

I stand in awe of the work these people have done this past year, with you and for you, and for the common good of Dartmouth’s future.

The time commitment and, at times, the pace were daunting. In the past 8 months we met in person as a committee 9 times, with most meetings lasting two days and some longer – and there were frequent conference calls in between. We crisscrossed the country in groups to meet with prospective candidates more than 25 times.

Each member of this committee found their voice early and used it well. They were strong ambassadors of the College as we engaged with the hundreds of leaders of higher education who served as resources or were prospective candidates. Everyone did their utmost when their utmost was needed. Any less and we would not have had this wonderful outcome for Dartmouth.

The members of this Committee have my undying gratitude and that of the entire Board of Trustees.

Finally, I want to acknowledge two people: Jim Wright, who has paved the way for our next leader. And my classmate, Ed Haldeman, as he returns to the podium. It was Ed who led in the effort to engage the entire Dartmouth community; it was Ed who engaged John Isaacson; and, as an ex officio member of the Committee, Ed was with us in every aspect of the search.

Ed, your leadership has been extraordinary. Thank you.