A President Worthy of a Mansion

The home of a scholar or another bureaucrat?Writing in The Wealth of Nations, economist Adam Smith quietly introduces the world to a novel type of fiscal litmus test. About halfway through his magnum opus, he observes with cheerful pithiness that “the health of any community can be discerned simply and truly by the quality of its homeowners.” Simply put: should society’s most impressive structures rest safely in the hands of the most worthy, then the nation’s integrity remains intact, and its future is secure. Should, however, its mansions and palaces be occupied by the mundane – by the legions of middlemen, bureaucrats, and apparatchiks of a new elite – then its days are numbered and its former greatness is doomed to the ash-heap of history.

While this historic warning may seem a tad heavy-handed, a careful look at the current state of the College’s affairs proves it not only relevant, but downright prophetic. It would appear that in the last few decades, a radical and far-reaching change has swept through the campus, altering the way Parkhurst approaches its goal of educational excellence. Once upon a time, Dartmouth seemed to emphasize the values of efficiency and affordability in contexts other than admission packet platitudes. Administrations used the interest from the school’s endowment and the generosity of its donors to develop a world-class curriculum, keep tuition costs low, and, above all else, fill the homes of Hanover with legions of accomplished professors and a paucity of bureaucrats.

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Folt Named Interim President

And we're not happy about it.

From Steve Mandel '78:

Dear Members of the Dartmouth Community,

As we anticipated President Jim Yong Kim's appointment to lead the World Bank, the Board of Trustees asked Provost Carol L. Folt if she would serve as interim president of Dartmouth. I am pleased to inform you that she agreed to do so, beginning July 1, 2012.

Below is a press release we have issued announcing Carol's appointment and the important work she will be doing to advance Dartmouth's mission in the coming year. We will make a further announcement on Thursday, April 19, regarding the Presidential Search Committee and the appointment of its chair.

Sincerely,

Steve Mandel '78
Chair, Dartmouth Board of Trustees

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Dartmouth Board Appoints Provost Carol L. Folt as Interim President

http://bit.ly/HPXwNO

The Dartmouth Board of Trustees appointed Provost Carol L. Folt, PhD, as the interim president of Dartmouth, effective July 1, following the election of President Jim Yong Kim to lead the World Bank. President Kim will remain Dartmouth's president until June 30 and continue to lead Dartmouth through the conclusion of the academic year and Commencement.

Board Chair Steve Mandel '78 said, "The Trustees congratulate President Kim on the tremendous honor of being chosen as president of the World Bank, one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty in the world. We have immense respect for Jim as a leader and human being, and are proud of his contributions at Dartmouth and in the world."

The appointment of Provost Folt, who is Dartmouth's chief academic officer and the second-highest ranking College officer, will ensure progress on a range of important initiatives to enhance Dartmouth's standing and excellence as a leader in higher education. The Trustees will continue to take actions to support these priorities over the coming year in consultation with the interim president.

"We have an exciting year ahead of us, with much work to be done, and are fortunate that Provost Folt has agreed to serve Dartmouth as interim president," Mandel said. "She will provide leadership to all parts of our campus and continue to lead the strategic planning process, which is a top priority for the Board. She has earned deserved recognition at Dartmouth and beyond for her impressive record of academic leadership and innovative research. She is passionate about Dartmouth and its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. She understands our history, our people and our approach, and brings vital continuity, experience, and enthusiasm. The Trustees all agree that Dartmouth will thrive under Carol's leadership through this important transitional period."

Folt, who became Provost in 2009, has been driving Dartmouth's first institution-wide, faculty-led academic strategic planning process. The initiative has enhanced collaboration and shared mission and provided vital insights into the College's assets and opportunities. As interim president, she will work closely with the faculty and the Board to assure this endeavor remains a priority. Folt has informed the Board that she will not be a candidate for the Dartmouth presidency beyond the interim period.

Folt said, "I have had a wonderful opportunity to work closely with President Kim to build on Dartmouth's traditional strengths and develop new areas during his dynamic presidency. I am honored to lead Dartmouth through this transition, and look forward to working with all members of the Dartmouth community to maintain the vitality of our campus, strengthen existing and new initiatives, and sharpen priorities. Keeping Dartmouth on an ambitious trajectory also will help attract a gifted and vibrant successor to President Kim."

President Kim said, "Carol's sure leadership and intimate knowledge of the College make her an outstanding choice for interim president. She is committed to strengthening Dartmouth's mission of education and research in order to prepare students--and future generations of students--for a rapidly changing world. With Carol at the helm, Dartmouth is poised for a powerful and exciting year."

Carol L. Folt became the inaugural holder of the endowed faculty chair titled the Dartmouth Professor of Biological Sciences in 2007. She is a distinguished environmental scientist and award-winning teacher who has served as a senior academic leader at Dartmouth since 2001 as dean of Graduate Studies, then as dean of faculty, and now as provost.

Folt and her colleagues study metal toxicity in aquatic ecosystems and its effects on human health, salmon restoration, and global climate change. She has held elected office in international scientific societies and is a frequent participant in federal research panels and other national scientific outreach activities. A recipient of Dartmouth's Huntington Award for Teaching, she is a committed teacher and advisor, mentoring more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students in her laboratory.

In 2010, Folt was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in recognition of her scientific contributions and her leadership in higher education. She received a BA in aquatic biology and an MA in biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a PhD from the University of California, Davis; and was a postdoctoral fellow at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. She joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1983.

As Provost, Folt works closely with the president to develop and implement a strategic and financial vision for the entire institution. During the recent financial crisis, President Kim directed Folt and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Steven Kadish to co-lead Dartmouth's efforts to resolve the $100 million budget gap. As Dean of Faculty, Folt oversaw an unprecedented period of faculty expansion in Arts and Sciences, increased numbers of women and underrepresented minorities in leadership positions and endowed professorships to historic levels, launched new academic programs, intensified support for critical student services, and ensured health care coverage for graduate students.

The Board of Trustees will make a further announcement on Thursday, April 19, regarding the Presidential Search Committee and the appointment of its chair.

--Adam I. W. Schwartzman

New York Magazine on the Asian-American Achievement Gap

Maybe the title of this post is a little misleading. You might say - what achievement gap, don't Asian-Americans routinely score higher in all educational metrics than their student peers? The answer to that question is assuredly yes. So why the title? Because, as this fascinating article in the most recent New York Magazine details, the tables are quite turned once Asian-Americans graduate from college. I won't spoil the article's startling statistics or anecdotes - it's really a piece that deserves to be read in full. I will however say that the piece is of special resonance to us here at Dartmouth. While Dartmouth's Asian-American student population (14%) pales in comparison to Penn's (23%), the demographic is a significant one. Further, as the readers surely know, Dartmouth is the only Ivy League institution with an Asian-American president. Clearly for Jim Yong Kim, there has been no typical post-college achievement gap. The article, however would suggest that his success is more an anomaly than anything else. I won't spoil the details, though. Go ahead and read the article.

Kim's Turnaround — The Conversation Continues!

Is President Kim merely a politician-cheerleader? Or will he only have made an impact at Dartmouth once he's vanquished the twin scourges of course oversubscription and professorial bias in the classroom? Yes and yes, if Joe Asch at Dartblog and Paul Mirengoff at Power Line have anything to say about it. Both have responded to my post defending Kim's accomplishments against Mirengoff's allegation that Kim is presiding over a "pseudo-turnaround" in Hanover. 

Of course, as much as I admire Joe and Paul, I can't let these assessments stand unchallenged. Why? Because Kim has done so much to enact the agenda that alumni like Joe and Paul have been advocating for years, and because he has done it under trying circumstances. One understands the criticism. After decades of adversarial College politics, the natural inclination of many combatants is to retain a healthy amount of skepticism about the opposing side. In Mirengoff's case, this means an unwillingness to believe that Kim is making a good faith effort at initiating a Great Issues curriculum; Asch, for his part, uses my own words against me to suggest that Kim's thin record of action on academic reform at Dartmouth is an indictment of his presidency overall. 

In each case, I get the sense that Joe and Paul are moving the goalposts on Kim. After all, both Power Line and Dartblog made clear in the past that the College's most pressing problems were its budget woes and administrative bloat. Kim came into office and almost immediately embarked on a tough austerity plan that brought on a torrent of criticism from the campus's liberal quarters, and which saved the College tens of millions of dollars a year. He proved his bona fides on the budget immediately, and rightly earned Asch's praise at the time. It's worth reiterating what a beating Kim took on this issue from many on campus, particularly among faculty. My impression from conversations with members of the faculty is that Kim used up just about all of his honeymoon capital and then some with the faculty in his efforts to reorder Dartmouth's fiscal house. 

Having dealt with that problem neatly, Kim then turned his attention to protecting Dartmouth students from the wrath of the Hanover Police, another hobbyhorse of Asch's. We're still waiting for resolution there, but it's clear that Kim is putting forth his strongest effort to provide a safer social atmosphere for Dartmouth students by providing them with more autonomy.

He has revamped the College's commitment to a strong athletics department with his outstanding appointment of Harry Sheehy as AD. Is this an administration likely to cut the swim team or complain about the role of athletics in college? Under Kim's watch, it would appear not. 

Given all of that (and one could go on about Kim's apparent commitment to working constructively with the College's Greek system, his popularity with alumni, etc), is it really fair to call Kim's young presidency a "pseudo-turnaround?" While Paul's and Joe's criticisms of course oversubscription and classroom bias are fair, those criticisms take aim at an exceedingly narrow slice of Kim's responsibilities; they also fail to take into account that Kim's been in office for only 18 months — hardly the length of time required to undertake a serious reform of Dartmouth's academic program.

Kim is certainly much more than an effective politician or a great cheerleader for Dartmouth, though he is both of those things. His track record so far indicates that he's a great manager; he's been able to get things done. The College's finances are healthy. Donations — a key yardstick of confidence in the College and the president — were up this past fiscal year. And that says nothing of Kim's pre-Dartmouth accomplishments in the field of public health, which don't need to be recounted.

In any case, the evidence for optimism abounds. I would submit to Joe and Paul that they might consider the whole body of Kim's work at Dartmouth thus far, and would maintain that Dartmouth is lucky to have someone of Kim's leadership caliber at its helm. Of course, there will always be room for improvement. But I share Peter Robinson and TJ Rodgers' well-placed judgment that "under President Kim the College is poised to proceed from strength to strength." Plus, the man can do one hell of a Michael Jackson impersonation.

-- Charles S. Dameron