The Big Green's Big Greenbacks

By J. Lawrence Scholer | Monday, January 15, 2001

Dartmouth's last fundraising campaign ended in 1996. The 'Will to Excel' campaign raised $500 million for the College, with 98 percent of donors fulfilling their pledges. The Will to Excel campaign has since become the subject of a class action lawsuit against the College, filed on behalf of all Dartmouth alumni. The College perseveres, however, and has announced plans for a new campaign that will call for $1 billion in alumni donations.

Since 1997, the percentage of alumni who donate money to the College has fallen by about three percentage points. In 1997, 53.1 percent of the alumni on record—that is, 22,414 donors—made contributions, according to the Development Office. In 2000 the number shrank to 22,148, or 50.3 percent of the alumni. The decrease tracks with a national trend, explains Carrie Pelzel, Dartmouth's Director of Development: 'There is much more competition for the philanthropic dollar today. In 1988 there were 447,525 registered non-profits in the country. Ten years later the number increased to 733,790.' Other colleges have reported similar drops in donations. Dartmouth's alumni giving rate ranks second (to Princeton) among universities nationwide, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Despite the declining participation rate, the total amount of money Dartmouth collects from alumni each year has grown. Dartmouth raised over $105 million in cash gifts during 1999. In 2000, the College garnered over $115 million. Through the Alumni Fund, 'Donors have been giving increasing amounts on a regular basis to financial aid, the endowment, and to facility projects that are identified as priorities by the College,' says Pelzel.

Alumni Protest

The class action lawsuit against the College Trustees is now pending before the New Hampshire Supreme Court, after a local judge accepted one of Dartmouth's motions to dismiss. Seven alumni filed the lawsuit in 1999 as representatives of the entire body of Dartmouth alumni.

The original complaint argued that the College engaged in fraudulent solicitation of funds during the 'Will to Excel' campaign. Dartmouth identified five specific purposes for the fundraising campaign: to provide increased financial aid to students, limit increases in tuition, to construct Berry Library and other academic facilities, to upgrade computer equipment for the faculty, and to improve the curriculum and athletic programs. At the time of the campaign, the alumni were not aware of the Trustees' plan to overhaul the social and residential system at the College, a move the Trustees had contemplated since the early 1980s. The plaintiffs charge that the College has used funds from the over $500 million raised to fund the Student Life Initiative—a violation of Dartmouth's fiduciary responsibility to alumni donors.

'The Trustees' representations during the Will to Excel campaign as to the uses to which the funds raised from alumni would be put were misleading in that the misrepresentations intentionally or negligently failed to additionally advise that such funds would also be used for the controversial elimination of single-sex fraternities and sororities and their replacement with a new social and residential system,' reads the complaint.

Grafton Superior Court Judge Edward Fitzgerald III dismissed the case last March, though he never heard arguments from the petitioners. The judge denied a motion for oral argument, and he gave the alumni no opportunities for depositions that could have proved the College's misuse of funds. The judge held that the alumni did not have enough evidence to prove misconduct on the part of the College. The plaintiffs did have substantial evidence concerning administrative misuse of funds prior to trial, but Fitzgerald himself prevented further discovery.

'The law in New Hampshire doesn't require one to have to have proof before a trial,' said William Tell '56, the lead plaintiff in the case. Fitzgerald did not allow the petitioners an opportunity to gather evidence when he disallowed depositions; the plaintiffs were also denied an opportunity to subpoena documents and other materials that could have proved wrongdoing.

The current appeal to the supreme court, in addition to the original counts, charges that the judge did not handle the case in a manner commensurate with constitutional due process. The ruling 'did not respond to the normal sense of fairness,' said Tell. The petitioners argue that due process requires some consideration of the charges. The court has not set a date for hearing the case, and it could be a while. The impeachment of Chief Justice David A. Brock '58 (see TDR, 10/2/00) threw the court into disarray.

If the supreme court considers the case, an alumni victory would mean that the College could not finance the Student Life Initiative with 'Will to Excel' dollars. The College is considering a $1 billion campaign, part of which would fund the construction of new dormitories and spaces for graduate students. The College could include the SLI as one fundraising objective. The billion-dollar proposal calls for double the money of the 'Will to Excel' campaign, and is the first fundraising drive since the controversial announcement of Dartmouth's overhaul of its social and residential system. The new proposal is likely to stir more debate among alumni not only because its funds may be used to supplant Dartmouth's fraternities and sororities, but also because the plan places greater emphasis on graduate education.

'My vision of Dartmouth is of a research community,' James Wright said upon his appointment to Dartmouth's presidency in April 1998. 'Dartmouth is a research university in all but name, and we are not going to be deflected from our purposes.' Wright announced his intention to develop Dartmouth's graduate programs and its professional schools. At the time, many alumni protested that Wright's program struck at the heart of Dartmouth's character, which has always focused on undergraduate teaching. Alumni feared that a new focus on research would lead to teaching assistants holding classes, a focus on faculty publication, and the general neglect of undergraduates that plagues most large research universities.

Alumni discontent was overshadowed by the SLI debate, but Dartmouth's new fundraising effort—in which it will explicitly ask alumni to finance an expansion of the graduate population and programs—promises to resurrect the issue.

A recent report by the Academic Planning Committee called for a greater focus on graduate education and stronger ties between the College and its vocational schools.

The Land Swap

'This will be one of the most active construction periods in Dartmouth's history, beginning with accelerated attempts to address the serious social and residential needs on the one hand and the urgent demand for academic space on the other,' reads the report. The College plans to build some six new buildings in the next ten years, including a graduate student center and new athletic building.

At the same time, Hanover's Dresden School District is planning to expand the town's public schools; the College's and town's interests may coincide. The Dartmouth administration and the Dresden School Board have discussed the possibility of the College purchasing the high school's property. The high school would relocate to College-owned land on Reservoir Road. Dartmouth, most likely, would use the acquired land for fields for varsity baseball and softball. The new athletic building is slated to replace the current baseball field.

In a September 14 letter to members of the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club and the Women's Rugby Club, Dick Jaeger, Director of Athletics and Recreation, wrote that, if the land swap goes through, the College would also need to relocate the playing fields in the Reservoir Road area as well as the site for the rugby clubhouse. 'While it is difficult for all of us to contemplate relocating the clubhouse site and thereby further delaying this long-awaited project, it is a possibility and we wanted you the hear this from us,' Jaeger wrote.

Clubhouse construction was planned to begin early this fall, but problems with the Hanover Zoning Board delayed the start. The Board's decision was appealed to the superior court and then to the supreme court. The superior court dismissed the appeal, and the supreme court declined to hear the case.

'The College is committed to making certain that any new site is an excellent location for rugby, and that the supporters of the project will not be asked to bear any additional costs due to any delays or changes in plans,' said Jaeger. He mentions the Sachem Field area as a possible location for the clubhouse and new fields.

Jaeger notes that the throughout the discussions, the administration has had the best interests of both the College and the community in mind. 'The quality of the schools in the Hanover community is critically important to Dartmouth, as is the College's commitment to student activities such as our men's and women's rugby club,' Jaeger said.

The Recreation and Athletics Department is not sure how long the delay will last. 'The possibilities will involve balancing many issues, always with the best current and future interests of Dartmouth and the community in mind,' said Jaeger.

The Big Green's Big Greenbacks

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