Final article in a six-part series about James O. Freedman
At a gathering of the eight Ivy League college presidents in Cambridge today, only Frank Rhodes of Cornell has been in his job longer than Dartmouth President James Freedman.
In only six years, Freedman has gone from league rookie fresh from the Iowa heartland to a veteran of the most elite group of administrators in American higher education.
Dartmouth's 15th president has now served as long as his predecessor David McLaughlin. And though Freedman says that five or six years is about the national average term for college and university presidents, he said he has no plans for a career change just yet.
"This is six years," he said in a recent interview in his Parkhurst office. "I won't stay 15. Short of that, I don't know."
Though his name constantly comes up whenever a presidency opens up, Freedman said he will not leave Dartmouth to head another school. He is quick to point out that between the University of Iowa and Dartmouth, he has been a president for over 11 years.
"It's a pleasant folly," he said. "I'm not going somewhere else to be a president. But it's nice people think of you."
Freedman said the days of life-long presidencies -- he gave Dartmouth President John Sloan Dickey and former University of Chicago President Robert Maynard Hutchins as the prime examples -- are over.
But aside from taking a year off to write about his experiences at Dartmouth Freedman has no definite plans for his future.
Freedman, an avid reader, with a personal collection of 4,500 books, is on the board of directors at Houghton-Mifflin Publishing House and said he could go into publishing.
A graduate of Yale Law School and a clerk for Thurgood Marshall when the former Supreme Court Justice was still a Federal appeals judge, Freedman has served as dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School but he said doubted he would ever return to the legal profession.
"Some day being a federal judge is every law professor's dream," he said. "The question is whether you are too old to be appointed."
Whatever he is doing, Freedman, who was born and raised in Manchester, N.H., said he would like to stay in the New England area. "I'm no Florida person," he said.
College Spokesman Alex Huppe said Freedman has placed a deposit to be on the waiting list for Kendall Homes, a retirement community in Hanover. But Huppe also said Freedman wants to keep all of his options open.
In the meantime, Freedman said he still has things he wants to accomplish at Dartmouth.
The hallmarks of his presidency are evident: a $425 million dollar campaign well underway, an entering class with the highest number of women in the College's history and the highest mean SAT scores. During Freedman's tenure he has helped create several opportunities for individual academic pursuits -- the Women in Science Project, the Presidential Scholar's Program, the E.E. Just and Mellon Fellowships -- which are among his proudest achievements.
Still there is more to do, the President said. He wants to see the new curriculum in place. It is set to go into effect for the Class of 1998. He also said he wants to see an expansion of program's in the creative and performing arts and to have the College get involved with sponsoring some sort of summer educational opportunity for inner-city high school students.
"The job satisfaction has really grown over the years," Freedman said. "The first few years were years of combat. These last few years have been much more satisfying.
"Six years is long enough to see some of your ideas bear fruit," he continued. "There's still a lot of work to do. The most important stuff is still ahead."
One of the most pressing challenges will be to regroup his five closest advisers. This year two of those administrators -- Provost John Strohbehn and Vice President for Development Skip Hance are stepping down.
Freedman says one of his greatest accomplishments has been his ability to surround himself with a select group of talented administrators who have helped him carry out his plans. Together the gang of six -- Freedman, Strohbehn, Hance, Vice President and Treasurer Lyn Hutton, Dean of Students Lee Pelton, and Dean of Faculty James Wright -- makes the College's budget decisions and sets priorities for the institution.
Freedman has said he likes to delegate. "Part of my style is delegation," he said. "You assemble a group of strong, able people and give them a lot of authority. You express confidence in people and you let them do their job well."
Freedman has already selected Lee Bollinger, the dean of the law school at the University of Michigan to serve as the next provost. A national search for Hance's successor will begin soon.
"What I hoped we have achieved is a very strong emphasis on academic purpose," Freedman said. "What I care most about is the intellectual environment. I'm very pleased with the quality of classes we have been admitting."
Freedman said he did not think a full assessment of his presidency could be made until decades after he leaves Dartmouth. "You go to bed thinking they may not say anything about you 25 years from now. You have to work for the moment and you hope eventually people say you strengthened the place."
