Spalding, the Lone Dissenter

I have it from a reliable anonymous source that the lone dissenter from the Association of Alumni’s letter to the Board of Trustees is David P. Spalding ’76, the Secretary-Treasurer of the AoA. Coincidentally, of all the Executive Committee and its officers, Spalding is the only member who works for the College. He has been the Vice President for Alumni Relations since late 2005. In his statement for the AoA election he wrote the following:

As vice president for alumni relations, I am committed to enhancing communication between the College and her alumni. We must do a more effective job of gathering broad alumni opinion and informing all of the alumni about what’s happening in Hanover.

This is curious, as it can be—and most certainly will be—argued that the most effective form of communication is through elections. When the administration’s favored candidates lose the last 4 seats in a row in elections to the Board of Trustees, the alumni are communicating their dissatisfaction. Spalding, though, is apparently willing to drastically weaken the alumni’s ability to be heard.

Since the only College employee is also the only person who dissented from Hutchinson’s ’76 letter, it won’t take long before one question, in particular, is asked: Is the pressure to reform how trustees are elected coming from the administration? At this point, such a question is pure conjecture; however, President Wright has shown a willingness to meddle in the past (most recently, the Ask Dartmouth website), and it would come as no surprise if Neukom’s ’64 seemingly off-the-cuff remarks originated in Wright.