When College President-elect James Wright came to Dartmouth in 1969 as an assistant history professor, he joined the faculty of a College that was smaller, all-male and had not yet implemented the Dartmouth Plan.
Needless to say, times have changed.
The 58-year-old Wright, who will be inaugurated in August, has more experience working at Dartmouth than any other College president-elect of the past.
In 1980, Wright became a full history professor. He served as associate dean of the faculty from 1981-85 and dean of the faculty from 1989-97. During College President James Freedman's 1995 six-month sabbatical, he was acting president of Dartmouth.
Wright is currently the College's provost. He took over as provost last year when former Provost Lee Bollinger departed to become president of Michigan University.
While Wright said the College "is a richer, more exciting place today" than it was in 1969, there is still much work to be done.
"I've got a lot to do -- it's not going to be a brief presidency," Wright said in an interview with The Dartmouth yesterday afternoon.
He said he hopes to strengthen the research activities of the faculty without compromising undergraduate teaching.
"I think that research is what makes a place like this intellectually exciting," Wright said. He wants to focus on "collaborative learning" among students and faculty members, he said.
In an address to the faculty yesterday, Wright called Dartmouth a "research university in all but name."
He said students already gain research experience through the Presidential Scholars activities and culminating projects. He is considering expanding the Senior Fellowship program and including research opportunities during Sophomore Summer.
Wright also said he wants to "make certain that there is no compromise" in affirmative action and need-blind admissions.
While he has no statistical goal of increasing the number of minority students on campus, he said he sees a call for making the College "even richer and more diverse than it is."
Wright also said the College should not be an environment that is "hostile or demeaning to women or other members of the community."
He said the Greek system in particular encourages "an environment or a mood or an attitude that is demeaning to women."
"Fraternities encourage conduct that is not appropriate," he continued, adding that "fraternities probably have too large a role in the social life." He said he would like to expand some of the social options available to students.
Before the new president was announced, many students expressed hopes that the appointee would be an accessible, approachable and active member of the College community.
Wright said he intends "to be quite accessible," and he aims to "engage more with students and understand better what is on their minds."
While he does not yet have any specific plans for interaction with students, he said he is considering holding weekly lunches and other conversations with them as he did when he served as acting president in 1995.
Wright is also moving out of his house in Etna to the president's house on Webster Ave. with his wife, Susan Wright, the associate director of Career Services.
One of Wright's immediate challenges as president will be to appoint a new provost, vice president and treasurer, dean of the College, dean of residential life and dean of the Thayer School of Engineering.
He will hold discussions this week with the chairs of the search committees, and said he hopes to "move ahead as quickly as we can" with the appointments, while avoiding rushing into decisions.
He said the College will probably appoint an acting provost, dean of the College and dean of residential life.
During Wright's tenure at Dartmouth, he has chaired or contributed to many committees that have made decisions affecting
students' everyday lives.
He chaired the curriculum review committee that proposed
broad changes to Dartmouth's educational program, including adjustments to the distribution requirements and the addition of culminating experiences to major requirements. The changes took effect for the Class of 1998, but not before Wright worked on the fundraising to ensure that the new curriculum would be ready.
In April 1987, Wright chaired a committee that reviewed student life and then issued a report calling for the College to reshape its social atmosphere.
The "Wright Report" recommended reducing both the role of alcohol and the influence of fraternities and sororities on campus social life. It also suggested building an expanded student center, which came in 1993 with the transformation of College Hall into the Collis Center.
Wright was appointed chair of the history department in 1989, the same year Freedman named him dean of the faculty. He soon gave up teaching because he thought his new position would prevent him from devoting time to his students.
But he is currently considering re-entering the classroom during his presidential term. He said his most rewarding experience at the College has been teaching and working with students, and he would like to resume his teaching career.
Wright may aim for the Fall term of 1999 as a target date for resuming his teaching career if his schedule permits, he said.
He received his undergraduate degree and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He specializes in American political history and recent US history.
Wright said he foresees working with students in "dealing with issues of the out of classroom experience" -- such as social and residential lives -- as a challenge he will face as president.
He said he will also pursue the "never ending" quest of improving the intellectual and academic strength of the institution, and he would like to enhance the strengths of Dartmouth's graduate programs.
