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February 9, 1999
Dear Members of the Dartmouth Community:
I am pleased to share with you–students, faculty, staff, alumni/ae, and parents–the news that at their recent meeting, the Board of Trustees began a process to enrich the residential and social experience at Dartmouth. I have enclosed with this letter the statement issued by the Board. The Trustees are committed to making a significant investment to improve and expand residential facilities and programs consistent with certain principles to better sustain Dartmouth’s historic strength. This decision follows a discussion about social and residential life that has engaged the Trustees and others for some time. It is essential that the quality of the out-of-classroom experience continue to keep pace with the changes in the academic life of the College.
Dartmouth has long taken pride in the sense of community that draws in and touches those of us who are privileged to study, to teach, and to work here. At Dartmouth, community has meant a sense of place, of shared experience, and of friendships that are sustained over a lifetime. My predecessors in the Wheelock Succession have often spoken of the Dartmouth spirit, as have I in the brief months that I have served as Dartmouth’s president. What we are about to undertake must strengthen, not diminish, that special feeling.
In their statement, the Trustees describe the fundamental principles that must define student and residential life, and they invite all of the Dartmouth community to participate in the process of identifying specific ways to meet these essential objectives. To this end, the Board has asked the administration to initiate immediately a series of conversations with all interested Dartmouth constituencies.
I have asked Acting Dean of the College Daniel Nelson to coordinate communications with students, parents, and staff. Stanley Colla, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, will coordinate communications with the alumni/ae. Provost Susan Prager, working with Dean Edward Berger, will coordinate discussions with faculty. In addition, we have established a new web site that is accessible through the Dartmouth homepage (http://www.dartmouth.edu/) as a means by which all members of the Dartmouth community can participate in this discussion. Further details will be available shortly.
I would emphasize that these discussions are not intended to provide a referendum on the principles about which the Board is clear. Rather, they afford all of us an opportunity to participate in a discussion about the creation of an even stronger residential and social system. They will provide the administration and Trustees with ideas and commentary that will assist us as we develop the detailed plans for future residential life at Dartmouth.
In my inaugural address, I emphasized the need for improvement in the out-of- classroom experience for all students. I have no doubt that this initiative will help ensure the Dartmouth experience remains second to none. Dartmouth will become a stronger community, and our students will leave Dartmouth better prepared for the issues and challenges of the 21st century.
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