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February 22, 1999
Dear Dartmouth Alumna or Alumnus,
At their February meeting, the Board of Trustees committed the Dartmouth community to a process aimed at significantly enhancing our residential and social systems
They outlined five principles that will characterize those systems in the future:
- There should be greater choice and continuity in residential living and improved residential space;
- There should be additional and improved social spaces controlled by students;
- The system should be substantially coeducational and provide opportunities for greater interaction among all Dartmouth students;
- The number of students living off campus should be reduced; and
- The abuse and unsafe use of alcohol should be eliminated.
In his letter of February 9, President Wright designated College officers who will coordinate communications to and from all parts of the Dartmouth community. My office will assume responsibility for direct communications with alumni. Provost Susan Prager has responsibility for the faculty, and Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson '75 will work with students, parents, and others on campus. The Office of Public Affairs will respond to inquiries from various media.
The Trustees intended for all segments of the Dartmouth community to embark upon a three to four month dialogue and to debate on how we may best achieve adherence to the five principles they have articulated.
To engage the alumni body in this conversation and to solicit your opinion, we have taken the following steps:
- President Wright will speak to the following alumni clubs during the winter and spring terms:
- West Palm Beach February 24
- Naples February 25
- Sarasota February 26
- New York April 7
- Denver April 27
- Chicago April 29
- Philadelphia May 11
- Upper Valley May 25
- The President and other senior administrators will meet with established alumni groups (e.g., the Alumni Council, the President's Leadership Council, the Alumni Fund Committee, etc.) to discuss this student life initiative and to gather feedback.
- We will actively seek opportunities for the President and other Trustees to meet with additional alumni clubs and selected alumni groups not mentioned above.
- Forthcoming issues of Dartmouth Life and the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine will carry up-to-date information, as will the student life initiative web page that may be found under Dartmouth's home page (http://www.dartmouth.edu/).
- The executive committees of all classes and clubs may consider holding special discussions within their specific constituencies and reporting on those conversations.
The College Relations Group of the Alumni Council has agreed to oversee and report on feedback from all alumni constituencies. Communications with this group may be delivered via the electronic mechanism provided on Dartmouth's student life initiative web page, by e-mail to college.relations.group@dartmouth.edu, or by regular mail to College Relations Group, Dartmouth College, 221 Blunt Alumni Center, Hanover, NH 03755.
It is important to note that the College Relations Group, while being asked to report on alumni feedback, has not been asked to synthesize alumni opinion into a specific proposal of its own.
The Trustees initiative on student life represents a milestone opportunity for Dartmouth to make a traditionally strong residential and social experience even better. The five guiding principles are meant to engender a comprehensive plan for the future, one which will benefit from creative and constructive suggestions. We welcome ideas about how best to organize residence halls, dining facilities, social spaces, and student life organizations, including fraternities and sororities. As we all think about the future, it will be helpful for us to focus on what is best about Dartmouth's traditional systems and values and how to enhance and strengthen them for the 21st century.
This is a compelling opportunity for all of us to help Dartmouth. I look forward to your participation in this process and thank you for your continuing support of the College.
With best wishes,
Stanley A. Colla, Jr.
Vice President
Development and Alumni Relations
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