Alumni Council Representative of Class of ’65 Endorses Mort and John

Pete Frederick’s recent letter to his class laid out the context for the Alumni Council’s 89-1 vote nominating Mort and John, and his own reasons for supporting them. The following is an excerpt from that letter:

“Much has and will be written about the competition between the nominated candidates and the petition candidates. I have followed this issue quite closely for 10 years. Allow my quick synopsis. With the exceptions of the College President, the Governor of New Hampshire and one widow who completed her husband’s term the members of the Dartmouth board have been and are alumni. There are three ways to get on the board 1) the sitting board of 24 alumni selects an individual to serve on the board. The board members do their research consult with other alumni and alumni organizations to select an alumnus that has the skills the board needs. 2) The alumni Council of over 100 alumni representing over 100 groups ( I represent the class of ‘65) select a nominating committee from their number which spends literally years preparing lists of potential trustees, vetting the list and seeking more nominees. We all have been asked at one time on another to suggest someone to be on the board. The committee nominates an alumnus for each open position on the board. 3) An alumnus/ae who was not nominated by the alumni council or was not selected by the board can pass a petition to get on the ballot. All alumni have the opportunity to vote for those nominated in 2 and 3. Dartmouth is truly unique in that its alumni have the opportunity to vote for its management team. Please take advantage of that opportunity and vote between March 10 and April 7. There have been arguments and lawsuits dealing with which of the 3 processes is used to select how many trustees. The lawsuits have been a waste of money and will only benefit the lawyers, not the College nor the alumni. (Yes you are correct, I am not a lawyer). The situation is as it is and can be changed via negotiations between the Trustees and those elected / selected by the larger alumni body to represent them….

“I know and respect the folks on the alumni council nominating committee, and am aware of the process they use to select nominees. I think they have selected two very good candidates. I know Mort and respect him. I have met John and like him. I am impressed with the demonstrated abilities of both. I do not know Joe. I know he wants to be a trustee and was not selected by the current board or the alumni council nominating committee. I know at one point he supported the lawsuit which I personally think was frivolous and a financial drain to the college. According to the D, Joe applauded the dismissal of Deans Marty Redman and Deb Carney as a good step in cleaning out the cobwebs of the administration. I personally worked with both Deb and Marty to get Beta reinstated on campus. I hold both in high regard. We did not always agree, however Beta is back. I disagree with the comments about them accredited to Joe. “