An external review panel composed of five members will be tasked with evaluating the progress of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” plan as it is implemented, the College announced on Monday. The panel — chaired by Tufts University President Emeritus Lawrence Bacow — is responsible for providing periodic evaluations of the advancement of “Moving Dartmouth Forward” to Hanlon and the College’s Board of Trustees.
The other four members of the panel include director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s division of epidemiology and prevention research Ralph Hingson, Stanford University associate vice provost and dean of residential education Deborah Golder, executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy Rachel Siegel ’12 and Vanguard Group Inc. analyst and former intern for then-senior assistant Dean of the College Inge-Lise Ameer, now interim Dean of the College, Malcolm Leverett ’14, the College reported.
Concerning “Moving Dartmouth Forward,” the panel’s goals and Hanlon’s goals are entirely in line, Bacow wrote in an email.
The panel’s job is to review the administration’s progress on various initiatives that constitute the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” plan and report the progress to the College’s Board of Trustees, Bacow wrote.
Bacow served as the 12th president of Tufts from Sep. 2001 until July 2011, where he led initiatives to improve undergraduate education and campus life in response to a broad review completed by the university in 2003, the College reported. He was also a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 24 years, during which he was elected faculty chair and subsequently chancellor. As chancellor, Bacow was responsible for reorganizing the university’s housing system after an undergraduate student died of alcohol poisoning in a fraternity house in 1997.
Bacow wrote that he respects Hanlon’s efforts with the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” initiative and has addressed similar concerns throughout his career, adding that these problems are not unique to the College.
Members of the panel were recommended by “various departments on campus” and then selected by Hanlon, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence wrote in an email.
None of the other four members of the panel were available for comment. A staff representative from Golder’s Stanford office said that Bacow is the only member authorized to speak with the press.
At Stanford University, Golder specializes in student residence management and development, the College reported. She served as assistant dean of residential education at Dartmouth from 1999 until 2001 and as associate dean of residential life and director of residential education at the College from 2001 until 2006.
Hingson is currently a member of the World Health Organization’s coordinating council to globally reduce dangerous alcohol use and formerly served as a professor and associate dean for research at the Boston University School of Public Health, where he researched underage and college drinking.
Siegel graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth in 2012 with a degree in English and a minor in Native American studies. She was also a part of the Hill Winds Society, the Organizational Adjudication Committee and the Committee on Standards during her time at the College.
Leverett graduated from the college last year with a degree in economics and a minor in Hispanic studies. During his time as an undergraduate, he interned for Inge-Lise Ameer during her time as senior assistant Dean of the College and assessed high-risk drinking at Dartmouth and similar institutions. He was a leader in Palaeopitus senior society, the Inter-Community Council and Beta Alpha Omega fraternity.
Student Assembly vice president Frank Cunningham ’16 said he approves of the creation of a review panel.
“I actually think that it’s a great idea,” Cunningham said. “I think that it holds Dartmouth to a higher standard, and it ensures that not only the Dartmouth student body or the faculty but Dartmouth College in general stays on the right track.”
