Wednesday, May 27, 2009

DMS announces layoffs, 10-percent budget cut

By Turia Lahlou, The Dartmouth Staff

Dartmouth Medical School will lay off 12 employees and cut approximately 10 percent from its $237-million operating budget as part of the College-wide effort to reduce expenditures by $72 million over the next two years, DMS Dean William Green said an interview with The Dartmouth. The layoffs will go into effect on a rolling basis through the month of July. No grant-funded or faculty positions will be cut.In addition to the layoffs, 40 employees will be asked to take 5- to 50-percent reductions in hours beginning July 1, Green said.As part of the plan, DMS is also looking to increase revenue by $4.1 million through an approximately 6-percent increase in tuition, an additional student service fee, a $2.5-million unrestricted contribution by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and a $500,000 contribution by DHMC towards the two institutions' joint development office, according to Green.Salaries at DMS will also be held flat for the fiscal year 2010 — except for faculty members who were already being considered for promotion — which along with compensation cuts and other similar measures will save about $5 million. In addition, DMS will slow down planned building renovations and cut back on facility services, which will save approximately $2 million. Reductions in areas of travel, supplies and other operational expenses will lead to additional savings of over $4.5 million.The DMS layoff package will be identical to the package offered to staff members laid off at the undergraduate College in February — two weeks of pay for each consecutive year worked at Dartmouth, a lump sum payment towards the full cost of maintaining health benefits for three months, career counseling and consideration as internal candidates for open positions. More »

Kim looks to coming presidency

By Robert Szypko, The Dartmouth Staff

College President-elect Jim Yong Kim — in speaking on his global health work in Cook Auditorium yesterday in his first on-campus public address since April — presented himself as a change agent who will approach the Dartmouth presidency with a “sense of urgency.” More »

Kappa Delta to become eighth Panhell. sorority

By Nathan Swire, The Dartmouth Staff

Kappa Delta national sorority has accepted the College’s invitation to become Dartmouth’s eighth Panhellenic sorority, according to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman. The Dartmouth Panhellenic Council voted on Monday to extend an invitation to Kappa Delta and offer a “stacked extension” to Delta Zeta sorority, meaning it will be given an invitation when the College next decides to expand the number of sororities on campus. More »

SA endorses OAC reform proposal

By ANN BAUM, The Dartmouth Staff

A committee tasked with proposing reforms to the Organizational Adjudication Committee has recommended that five-member student boards, rather than deans, hear College disciplinary cases for organizations, according to a summary of the proposal provided by Student Assembly. The Assembly endorsed the proposals on Tuesday. More »

Dartmouth credit rating lowered

By Mitch Davis, The Dartmouth Staff

Days before the College plans to issue over $400 million in bonds, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the College’s credit rating to double-A plus, the second highest rating, from its prior triple-A status. The change will likely have only a marginal effect on the College’s upcoming bond issue, according to Adam Keller, Dartmouth executive vice president for finance and administration. More »

Lecturer advocates for global med. standards

By Christina Wray, The Dartmouth Staff

Physicians in Laos should meet the same minimum educational requirements as physicians in the United States, M. Roy Schwarz, founder of the Institute for International Medical Education, said in the 2009 John P. McGovern, M.D. Lecture in Silsby Hall on Tuesday. Schwarz said he is working to create a “global profession of medicine” where all medical professionals meet set requirements. More »

Police Blotter

By Elise Quinones, Courtesy of Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone, The Dartmouth Staff

May 13, 3:51 p.m.Lebanon StreetHanover Police received a complaint from the attendants of a downtown parking garage that people were jumping on the roof of the garage. The police went to the scene where they found a young male and issued him a warning. More »

Daily Debriefing

By Katie Gonzalez, The Dartmouth Staff
  • Liberty University, an evangelical Christian liberal arts institution founded by televangelist and conservative commentator Jerry Falwell, has banned its College Democrats organization from participating in campus activities, The New York Times reported. More »
  • Budget concerns dominated U.S. More »
  • The Dalai Lama has offered to donate $100,000 to Florida International University to prevent the closing of its religion department, The Miami Herald reported on Monday. More »