Trustee candidates speak at alumni event
Trustee candidates John Replogle '88, second from left, Joe Asch '79, center, and Morton Kondracke '60, second from right, stand with alumni at an event held in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.
By Christy O'keefe And Angie Yang, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Web Update
In an event in Minneapolis, Minn., March 9, Alumni Council-nominated candidates John Replogle ’88 and Morton Kondracke ’60 and petition candidate Joe Asch ’79 met to debate a variety of campaign issues, the candidates said in interviews with The Dartmouth. The event was attended by more than 50 alumni, Replogle and Kondracke said.
The candidates were asked two formal questions, followed by a series of informal questions from attendees, during the discussion, Replogle said.
Kondracke said he stressed to alumni the fact that the election is a choice and urged alumni to explore the candidates' prior statements on the College. He also voiced his support for Replogle, he said.
“My main point was that [Asch] has been a non-stop critic of the College, and he is also inclined to be a micromanager,” Kondracke said in an interview with The Dartmouth. “Joe’s basic argument is ‘I live in Hanover, I talk to professors, I talk to students, I know the place intimately.’”
At the forum, Kondracke said the role of a trustee does not include telling the president what decisions he should make.
“I was scolded by the moderator for making negative comments about someone else, but I think the contrast had to be made because [the election] is a choice,” he said.
Candidates also discussed academics at the College, specifically course oversubscription, according to Asch.
“Both John Replogle and Mort Kondracke said that the oversubscription problem that Dartmouth students face today was also a serious problem when they were students,” Asch said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Asch said students getting waitlisted or not admitted to classes was “quite unknown” in his time at the College with the exception of “a small seminar with a special professor.”
Asch said he thought the forum was “civil” and “enormously informative.”
Speaking to alumni in New York City on March 3, College President Jim Yong Kim outlined his views on important characteristics for trustee candidates.
Responding to a question from Linda Gridley ’82, Kim said he believed the trustee candidates should be people who have been “wildly successful” in the outside world and who can bring those experiences and leadership to the Board of Trustees, Kim said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Kim said he also believes trustees should understand that their role is not to “micromanage all the details of Dartmouth administration.”
Asch said Kim’s description of the characteristics of a trustee was “spot-on,” but said he thought there was a more significant characteristic that Kim did not mention.
“The two characteristics that [Kim] points out are less important than the most vital characteristic of a trustee, which is to have the commitment and intelligence to understand the daily life of the College,” he said. “It's clear to me that over the past 10 years, for whatever reason, the majority of the Board have not been successful in fulfilling those requirements, and that is why the College is facing the grave financial crisis and structural deficits that President Kim is working to alleviate today.”
Kondracke, who attended the event in New York, said he believed Kim was describing Replogle and himself when he identified real-world success as a key characteristic of a good trustee. He said, however, that he did not interpret Kim’s comments as a direct endorsement of the two candidates.
Kondracke also noted that he believed Kim was referring to Asch when he expressed concern about trustees who “micromanage.”
“I have a notion that Asch is the type of guy who will greet Kim every morning on the steps of Parkhurst and tell him what he should do that day.” he said. “I don’t think he understands the difference between being a trustee and being an administrator.”
Kim told The Dartmouth he wanted to emphasize that he has not endorsed a particular candidate.
“I have just been hearing from so many different places that they have the impression that I have endorsed a particular candidate, in this case Joe Asch, and I just want to make it really clear — that is not my role here,” Kim said.
Following a request from Kondracke, a group of 25 trustees emeriti recently sent out a letter that urged alumni to support Kondracke and Replogle, according to trustee emeritus Susan Dentzer ’77.
Dentzer said she and the other trustees emeriti believe that it is important to respect the process by which the Alumni Council nominates candidates.
“All of us who are emeriti have lived what it means to be a trustee and feel that the alumni council nominating committee takes into account the most important qualities,” she said.
Peter Fahey ’68 Th ’69, also a former trustee, said he signed the letter because he has “great faith and trust in the exhaustive process that the alumni council uses to select candidates.”
“It is important for the future of the College that the process occurs,” he said.
In a mailing that was sent out last week, three sitting trustees who were nominated for the Board by petition — T.J. Rodgers ’70, Peter Robinson ’79 and Stephen Smith ’88 — announced their support for Asch, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Kondracke said he did not think it was “good form” for current trustees to be publicly supporting a candidate.
Kim said he believed that the letter could lead other trustees to openly take sides in the race, also noting that he hoped future alumni races would be less “difficult.”
“I think that contentious and expensive and acrimonious races are bad for Dartmouth College,” he said.
Voting for the Board of Trustee elections began March 10, and concludes April 7.
Re the D reporting: I wish we could read more about candidate thoughts on issues facing the College, and less on the juicy issues of the campaigning.
Just received at home: a mailing from Joe Asch and another from Dartmouth Undying on behalf of Mort Kondrake and John Replogle. What a contrast!
The one page letter from Asch dealt with challenges facing our College: the Kim-identified structural deficit, availability of courses for students, and growing employee benefit costs. Not one mention of his opponents. It was accompanied by 5 pages of endorsements… from 5 faculty members including both the former dean of the faculty and a professor of native American studies (Where are the facts behind those who label Asch anti-diversity?), from 7 current or former students, and from the three independent trustees (i.e. those elected by alumni outside the Alumni Council’s backroom).
In contrast, the UnDying letter opened not with an endorsement of their candidates, but with fear-mongering that “some” alumni (not named) were creating “roadblocks” (not identified) against President Kim, and then implicating Asch by association. The letter provides side by side facts comparing those presumably positive for their candidate to those presumably negative for Asch. One is telling… they presume it to be a negative that he “operates a health club in Lebanon, NH”. This reveals to me an elitist, condescending attitude, one that underlies a philosophy concerned more with the prestige of Dartmouth than with her fundamental health.
The UnDying letter also touches on the Association of Alumni elections, devoting one sentence to their candidates and double that to trashing their opponents. Not one mention anywhere of College issues beyond the alumni governance dispute. This from a group that claims they own the high ground of civility and constructiveness. At least they could tell us the names of their principals. They either lack the courage to do so, or fear identification will reveal politically-damaging alliances and overlaps, or both.
By Timothy A. Dreisbach 71 on Mar 11 | 8:34 am
Mr: Driesbach: Oh Joe Asch audited one Native American Studies course? That instantly makes him pro-diversity, my mistake! How could I have been so wrong to think that a person wouldn’t understand everything to do with diversity issues after that!
Does he also have one black friend? Stop the presses!
Oh and his ideological friends support his candidacy? Give this man the Nobel Peace Prize for ushering a new era of understanding between all peoples!
Better yet, why doesn’t he run for President of The United States, he could probably single-handedly be responsible for bipartisanship in Congress if we let him!
The endorsements from faculty and students he chose to include read more like, “joe seems like an ok guy to have a beer with” than “he is the best candidate for trustee.” In fact I know more people who were asked to write on his behalf and refused stating they did not agree with his ideology (even if they thought he was a nice guy) than those who agreed to write.
Tim, your argument is like, “well his friends like him, I like him!” he has to be a great guy.
Also how is contrasting differences a bad thing? If Joe’s negative ideas/ideology outweigh his good ideas, then it is perfectly ok for people NOT to vote for him based on the balance.
By joe’s one black friend on Mar 11 | 8:54 am
What a love-fest! Great to see the nominating committee there too. Since there is an extra opening on the Board because of the resignation of Jose Fernandez, the Board should call the election off and appoint all three candidates. That would be the “civil and collegial” thing to do.
By DartBored on Mar 11 | 9:02 am
So you’ve made up your mind. Why tell us about it? Are you getting paid by the Asch campaign?
By annoyed on Mar 11 | 9:20 am
Tim, you bring up an excellent point. From the start of this process, Messrs. Replogle and Kondracke have tried to turn Joe’s greatest strength against him: that he knows what he’s talking about. I have had many, many conversations with Joe over the past year and each has deepened the respect I have for Joe’s grasp of the issues. Joe is not a micromanager, he has just studied the issues back-to-front. Having thought through the many facets of College life, as Joe has, is no vice. We need more of that on the board, not less.
Let’s face it: in a time of economic turmoil, there is no learning curve for a trustee of the College. Joe has shown time and again that understands the issues; he lives them daily. That gives him the capacity to be an independent thinker and an outstanding advisor to President Kim.
When President Kim needs counsel, who do you want him calling? A trustee who can say, “At Burt’s Bees, we did this. Maybe that would work?” Or do you want a trustee who can tie his real-world experience to an intimate understanding of Dartmouth — not just the Dartmouth of 1979 or 1988, but the true ‘Dartmouth Undying’ of yesterday and today? For me, that choice couldn’t be clearer.
By Brice D. L. Acree ‘09 on Mar 11 | 12:52 pm
Joe’s public statements are ever undermined by his private communications. There is a tremendous disconnect between them. His blog, and actions over the past ten years, also are incongruous with his recent Trustee candidacy statements. Will the real Joe Asch please stand up?
I continue to amaze that the conservative candidate proposed by the Council, Mr. Kondracke, is Mr. Asch’s most vehement critic. Somebody explain that to me, because I really don’t get it.
FWIW, I am roughly from Joe’s era, and I do remember limits on classes: there were at least two, where I had to beg to be ‘let in’. OTOH, the problem is far, far worse at state schools. These systems tout the ‘value’ of the education they provide. The unwritten message: you can’t graduate in four years, it will take five or six, because you cannot get the classes required for graduation.
On yet another hand, I am aware of one Dartmouth student who ran into a ‘Catch-22’ situation vis-a-vis classes required for graduation (class of ‘09), but ultimately the dean’s office stepped in and resolved the problem (because it had been botched at the department level). So IMO, this issue is not important to this campaign, and can be dealt with administratively.
The Trustees should deal with money, and with long-term goals and direction, and evaluation of the President’s success in meeting those goals and following that direction.
By Stunning to Whom? on Mar 11 | 2:07 pm
Stunning to Whom – I agree that the role of a trustee is not to manage the administrative tasks of the College. That said, how can a trustee “[evaluate] the President’s success in meeting … goals” if s/he doesn’t understand the administrative side of the coin?
I do not want a trustee who tries to boss President Kim around. I do, however, want a trustee who can help the administration set long-term goals, counsel the President and his staff on how to implement them, and if need be, hold our leaders accountable should they fail to judiciously execute said plans. Knowing that class oversubscripton is a problem, and making sure that makes it onto the agenda, is a good thing for every student.
By Brice D. L. Acree ‘09 on Mar 11 | 3:01 pm
Class oversubscription is not the huge problem Mr. Asch makes it out to be. If a student can’t graduate in 4 year’s time, it’s rarely because s/he cannot get into a necessary course. At any rate, course over subscription is not really something that trustees should be concerned about. Furthermore, Mr. Asch is not as in touch with the students as he thinks he is. So he’s audited a few courses and talked to the same handful of students. This makes him fit to assess the ever-changing needs of the undergraduate student body? Give me a break. Honestly, I think many people would be more supportive of his campaign if he didn’t keep going on about how “in touch” he is with student needs (more like student desires, as our bare needs are pretty much covered). President Kim doesn’t need another pompous know-it-all to tell him what to do. He’s handled the budget cuts well so far; Dartmouth is in good hands.
By this whole debate is stupid on Mar 11 | 3:50 pm
@ Brice Acree How is Asche equipped to understand “the administrative side of the coin”? He is not and never has been an administrator.
By undergrad on Mar 11 | 3:54 pm
Isn’t it funny that the same people who support Joe Asch are the same people who supported the previous petition candidates and also the same people who founded Phrygian.
Joe, meeting with members of that secret society doesn’t make you a good representative of student views.
good article about it below: http://thedartmouth.com/2007/03/07/news/secret
By phrygian? on Mar 11 | 4:18 pm
“Trustee Todd Zywicki ‘88, who gained his seat as a petition candidate, told The Dartmouth that he had met with Phrygian multiple times.”
Has Joe Asch met with the Phrygians, too?
Does the group even exist any more?
By Phrygian? Non. on Mar 11 | 7:19 pm
another all-male secret society
By great, just what we need on Mar 11 | 8:43 pm
Mort Kondracke, “the conservative candidate”? A curious description for someone known as a moderate, and who has worked at The New Republic, Newsweek, and NPR! Recommend reading Paul Mirengoff’s piece at PowerLine on the election in general and Kondracke in particular:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025806.php
By Steven R. Koch ‘82 on Mar 12 | 7:43 am
This discussion has passed beyond civility and productiveness. Serious readers, especially alumni voters, are encouraged to review the comments taking place on the Association of Alumni’s forum:
http://dartmouthaoa.blogspot.com/2010/03/dartmouth-election-forum.html
In the space of 30+ comments, readers will be enlightened and amused by:
A direct debate between the two presidential candidates vying to represent alumni as AoA president.
A recap of the litigation controversy (if you are not tired of it) from both sides, with relevant insights into the roles played by the current candidates.
An explanation from our current president as to why our discussion forum was closed to all comments for a period of 5 weeks just prior to this election.
The two presidential candidates answering or evading (you decide) questions regarding problems due to the Association’s dependence on external organizations for funding, and for administrative support.
Intermingled comments by other alums.
Enlightenment: It is worth 10 minutes of your time before voting.
Amusement: Find out if quisling is a generic term for leaders who have broken faith with those they represent, or only refers to WWII Nazi collaborators.
By Timothy A. Dreisbach 71 on Mar 12 | 8:27 am
i’m pretty sure phrygian still exists, and this article from 10/20/09 written by a student makes the same conjecture:
http://thedartmouth.com/2009/11/20/mirror/gospel
By phrygian? on Mar 12 | 9:19 am
I find it interesting that Joe Asch has the endorsements of 3 current trustees, and not the most effective ones, while Replogle has endorsements from 25 trustees emeriti.
By weight of authority on Mar 12 | 1:31 pm
@weight: where can we see those effectiveness ratings for the trustees?
By wright of authority on Mar 12 | 2:36 pm
@wright: See the report on governance. The petition trustees lost the most important vote of their trustee careers.
By weight of authority on Mar 13 | 9:40 am
I checked out the general fund donor list “honor list” on the alumni website. Of the petition slate on the executive committee (I have Riner ‘06, Baehr '05, Guth '77, Paris '71, Orcschel '61, and Stuart Richards '62), only Orschel donated money in the past three years ('08,'09,'10). I recognize that the 2010 list doesnt close until summer (I haven’t given yet, for instance) but the previous two years’ absence of these people from the list is pretty noteworthy, given that they are RUNNING for seats, especially as you need to donate $0.01 to get on the list…
By Moneytalks on Mar 19 | 5:01 pm