April 4, 2008
Dear Members of the Dartmouth Community,
As we undertake our search for Dartmouth’s seventeenth president, the Board of Trustees is eager to hear your views about the future of the College and the type of leader that can best carry Dartmouth forward. I am writing today to give you an update on the search process and to let you know how you can participate in it.
Following President Wright’s announcement in February that he will step down at the end of the '08–'09 academic year, I appointed Trustee Al Mulley '70 to lead the presidential search. We now are identifying other potential members of the search committee and will announce the full committee in early June. The Board is also in the process of developing a Statement on Leadership Criteria that will help guide the committee’s work.
Al and the rest of the Board are committed to ensuring that all members of the Dartmouth community have an opportunity to provide input into the search process. To that end, we have set up a website devoted to this subject at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~trustees, where you can share your views with the Board and search committee. We also will be holding a series of meetings this spring and fall in Hanover and other locations to solicit your input as the process proceeds. In the meantime, to aid the Trustees’ development of the Statement on Leadership Criteria at their special meetings in May, we would welcome your thoughts on the following questions:
You can provide your input through the website listed above or via mail to: Presidential Search, Post Office Box 242, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755. While we welcome your input at any time in the process, answers to these initial questions to inform the Statement on Leadership Criteria will be most helpful prior to April 30, 2008.
Over the past two months, I have heard from many of you – both about the great affection and respect so many of you have for President Wright, as well as the qualities you would like to see in Dartmouth’s next president. I appreciate all of your thoughtful notes and helpful feedback, and I hope you will continue to share your views with us in the months ahead. Your participation in this process is critical to ensuring the strong, bright future we all want for Dartmouth.
Sincerely,
Ed Haldeman '70
