More Questions 2

These are from Pete Foster '48:

Congratulations on the number of changes made in the proposed Constitution as a result of Alumni concerns. The Webcast was well handled, impressive and very effective. Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions extending those which were voiced in Boston.

1. It bothers me that all of the expenses of the Association are met by the College budget. If nothing else, this gives the overriding impression that the Administration holds all the strings and through the appointment of our Secretary, controls much of our activity. It is akin to the old, outmoded and ineffective "company union". We should have our own Treasurer and budget to be independent of and not be a burden to the Administration. One hidden item in the operation is the budget. How much does it cost to support the Association and who controls that? Why are there no reports?

Some of these concerns have been addressed earlier on this blog, especially the role of the non-voting Secretary position (click here to view it). While we have heard some alumni call for financial independence, the issue is sufficiently controversial and the change would be of such magnitude that the AGTF chose not to recommend it (we've got enough on our plate!). We did feel that if the Association were to become independent, one downside (among many) would be that it would have to essentially duplicate the current support structure at a much greater cost. As it is, Association activities are funded as a part of the Alumni Relations budget, and while I am not aware of any specific reports that accurately break out Association expenses, I think most people would be amazed at the level of support (financial and otherwise) and wide latitude the Association enjoys. Bottom line: We feel that independence is an issue for another day.

2. With improved communication through Alumni Relations it should no longer be necessary for the Secretary to be an officer or appointed designee from the College. The Secretary should be a member of the Association with a coordinate in the A/R department to handle business in which the College must take part. This might have to be a paid position but could easily be supported by 66,000 members.

Again, see the previous discussion here. We did not feel it was necessary to create two positions that would essentially be doing the same job. At the same time, we did cherish what independence we do have and as the job is largely one of logistical support, we made the Secretary position non-voting.

3. The Nominating Committee Chair should be one of the 12 and not a 13th or 14th member which could be conceived by Alumni as a retention of a balance of power by the Assembly. Three years on the Committee is long enough for any member.

First of all, it is important to note that it is just as possible for the chair of the NomComm to be someone who was elected at-large. Secondly, while institutional memory and continuity over time are valuable assets on this all-important committee, membership on the NomComm is a very tough and time consuming job, and it is perhaps unlikely that many third-year members will seek becoming chair the following year. On the other hand, there may be times or certain personalities involved that make it ideal to have the chair be in their fourth year of service. It will be up to the committee as a whole to decide. Nonetheless, the AGTF, in consultation with current and past members of the Alumni Council Nominating Committee, continues to look at this provision.

4. Procedures or guidelines of the Nominating and Balloting Committees should be printed and made known to all members well before and not immediately preceding any nominating activity or voting period. Again it is in the interest of good communications and understanding for such rules to be stable and well respected.

Agreed. While it is important to remind alumni of the procedures and guidelines under which those committees operate just before such nominating activities or voting periods, it will be important to have them available at any time and adequately disseminated whenever they are changed. The AGTF constitution mandates that the Balloting Committee publish its guidelines (see section 4.4.2.4) and will strongly suggest in its report that those groups authorized in section 8.2 to adopt such guidelines follow suit.

5. With reference to Article 7.4, Petitions for the purpose of nominating a proposed Trustee should be made available long before the 30 day period prior to the date of the Nominating Committee meeting. Such form should be easily obtained and unchanging over the years except with long advance notice of modification and reasons for such.

To the extent possible, the AGTF has tried to create a level playing field for petition candidates and Nominating Committee candidates, particularly when it comes to campaigning. For a petition candidate, the very process of obtaining signatures requires campaigning and will be occurring, per our current proposal, before the Nominating Committee candidate(s) is(are) even named. Advantage petitioner. But this advantage can be mitigated somewhat in reducing the time that official forms are available (30 days) and, in fairness for reducing the signature period (currently 60 days), cutting the number of required signatures in half (from 500 to 250). However, petition candidates are free to (and most likely will) actively seek support well in advance of the 30 days before the Nominating Committee meets to name its choice(s). The 30 day signature period will probably serve as merely the official kick-off of the petitioner's campaign. Continued advantage petitioner, at least when it comes to campaigning.

6. The specific representation on the Assembly of two members of each "Affiliated Alumni Group" as specified in Article 5.2.1.9 assume that in order to assure diversity in the group such representation must be enforced rather than assuming that the Clubs, Classes, Graduate Schools and voting members of the Association would include such members in their election processes. Such stipulation is divisive in its presence by causing nominations from these general groups to consciously avoid Affiliated members since they "will have their own representatives".

We do not think that this will be the case. The AGTF has faith that Dartmouth alumni will choose the best people to represent their group (class, club, officer association, etc.) regardless of whether or not there might be a similar individual on the Assembly representing another group (affiliated group or otherwise) . As an example, I would expect that there will be many class or club reps who also happen to have a degree from one of the graduate schools, even though those schools "have their own representatives." I strongly suspect that it will never enter people's minds that they should perhaps choose someone else. Likewise, just as is the case today on the Alumni Council, some Assembly reps for classes, clubs, and the like will be minorities, despite the existence of seats (today on the Council and in the future on the Assembly) for their affiliated group.

7. Is there duplication between Articles 5.2.1.5 and 5.2.1.8 in the Club Officer Association representatives totaling 14?

Thank you. We will try to make these sections more clear. Section 5.2.1.8 is intended to seat representatives who are members of the Class Officers Association and the Club Officers Association, while section 5.2.1.5 is intended to seat representatives from clubs in certain geographic areas who are not necessarily officers and therefore not members of the Club Officers Association. However, those metropolitan district and at-large regional representatives will be elected by the Club Officers Association.

8. In 9.5 it just does not seem right for the President of the College to be appointing one of our officers. Where does the allegiance, loyalty, interest and direction lie in a non-member, for instance, whose career and livelihood come from the Administration?

As mentioned before, the office of Secretary is a non-voting, logistical support position linking the Association to the College. Having that person be the senior member of the Alumni Relations staff (or his or her designee) is a huge asset to the Association. When there is a vacancy in the administration, it is up to the boss (the President of the College) to decide who among the remaining staff will tackle what tasks until a new person can be hired. Thus, any interim Association Secretary would be named by the President.

With wishes of good luck and congratulations for all the work and accomplishment, Yours very sincerely, Peter B. Foster

Many thanks, Peter!