ACTA Criticizes Executives' Action

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Editor’s Note: This letter was sent to Al Collins, President of the Association of Alumni, by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni imploring him to rescind the officers’ decision. Also receiving carbon copies of the letter were James Wright, Merle Adelman, Joe Stevenson, the AGTF Chairman, and Bill Neukom, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

June 1, 2006

Allen V. Collins, President

Dartmouth Association of Alumni

Dear Mr. Collins:

I write today on behalf of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), a nonprofit, educational organization committed to academic freedom, excellence and accountability at America’s colleges and universities. We have a network of concerned alumni and trustees from institutions across the country including Dartmouth and a National Council whose members come from across the ideological spectrum.

We recently received a copy of the letter sent by merle Adelman, first vice president of the Dartmouth Association of Alumni, informing Dartmouth alumni that the Association’s scheduled October 15 annual meeting and election have been “postponed” until some indefinite time in the “first half of calendar year 2007.”

ACTA is profoundly troubled by this announcement. It is in direct violation of existing bylaws and appears designed to undermine and diminish the historically important and constructive role of alumni in the governance of Dartmouth College. We call upon you to rescind this decision immediately.

Article IV, Paragraph 1 of the Association’s constitution provides for the election of Association officers on an annual basis at an Annual Meeting designated at the preceding year’s meeting. That date—as outlined in the October 2005 meeting minutes—is October 15, 2006, and there are no provisions for a unilateral decision to postpone the meeting date and thereby extend the terms of the existing officers.

The fact that the Association has decided to postpone the election since “the results of the vote on the proposed [Dartmouth Alumni Association] constitution will not be available until October 31” is even more alarming.

As you know, ACTA and many other observers have expressed profound concern over the alleged “reforms” the proposed constitution would make to the role of alumni in governance generally.

The proposed constitution would render alumni trustee petition candidates virtually impossible by subjecting them to an entirely different set of electoral rules than those governing officially endorsed candidates. All future petition candidates would have to declare their candidacies—including submitting nominating petitions—before the Nominating Committee names the official slate of candidates. This requirement would preclude those candidates from running in reaction to the aims and agendas of their opponents, which is the very point of the petition trustee mechanism. The proposed revisions would also limit petition candidates to a mere 30 days to amass 250 signatures.

At a time when there is growing alumni concern about the direction of the College, it is quite frankly shameful that the association responsible for representing alumni is doing all in its power to reduce their participation. As the voice for Dartmouth alumni, you should be taking all steps possible to enhance—not diminish—the alumni role.

It is especially troubling that the Association’s efforts come at a time when university governance is under increasing scrutiny—witness recent hearings chaired by Senator Charles Grassley regarding nonprofit governance—with a growing public awareness of the need for independent voices to address the challenges in higher education.

It is critical that trustees not serve solely as cheerleaders, but that they ask questions and bring special independence, judgment, and expertise—independent of any kind of favors from the university administration.

Moreover, no matter what one thinks of the proposed new constitution, all reasonable people should agree that whatever constitution is in place ought to be honored. And the Association leadership’s unilateral decision to postpone the election, in obvious defiance of clear constitutional provisions regarding annual elections, constitutes a clear effort to shepherd the proposed constitution to passage and/or shore up the power of some or all of the present members of the leadership.

In the interest of fundamental fairness and in keeping with your moral obligation to abide by governance procedures, we call upon you publicly to rescind Merle Adelman’s May 24 letter and hold the October 15 elections as scheduled.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Anne D. Neal

President

ACTA Criticizes Executives' Action

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