Another Hit and Run?

By Benjamin Patch | Wednesday, January 14, 1998

The College has seen quite a number of high-level resignations in recent months: James Freedman, Jim Wright, et al. But none came as such as surprise as the news that Dean Pelton has accepted the job as President of Willamette University and will leave Dartmouth come June.

Freedman's departure shocked very few. Indeed, in the game show of college presidents, he had to settle for the parting gift instead of the Cambridge showcase.

But Pelton is a far different man. The Daily Dartmouth lauded him for his commitment to changing 'student life at Dartmouth.' With the implementation of the CCAOD's recommended regulations on College fraternities and sororities, this spring was the moment when his eight years of work would come to fruition, when he pulled up the curtain and unveiled his new Dartmouth.

I think Pelton will be remembered by, if anything, his almost mythical political saavy. I've never seen a College administrator even begin to approach the rapport that the Dean has with students and parents alike.

I'm relieved, in some sense, to see him go, just because of his nearly invincible political acumen. He's a daunting opponent.

Pelton is the impetus behind the new alcohol policy which could wreck Dartmouth's Greek System, a proposition nearly universally unpopular among students.

At the recent CCAOD (College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs) meeting, hostile students hissed and heckled several of his panelists.

Yet when Pelton stood up in the crowd (a deftly calculated move), the angry mob greeted him with cheers and applause. He's a nice, charming guy, and you want to agree with him.

Why then, would such a young, talented administrator with such prodigious abilities run off to an obscure West Coast University?

A look at Pelton's past is very telling. At Colgate University, Pelton ransacked the Greek system only months before he packed the U-Haul for Hanover.

It's fast becoming his modus operandi — smile, wave to the crowd, light the fuse, and run for the county line. I doubt that Pelton particulary enjoys, or is really even capable of, weathering a storm of criticism.

At any rate, he's much too wily to get trapped in a trench war between students and Parkhurst. He's the ultimate product of a profession which has begun to eerily mirror our national political quagmire.

In both worlds, real change and commitment demand lip service and little else, and long as they're followed by a smile and a handshake.

Yep, I'm glad he's leaving. But he sure was a nice guy.

Another Hit and Run?

Article Tools

Related Articles