2008 Association of Alumni Candidates

Paul Mirengoff '71, Bethesda, MD
INDEPENDENT, PRO-PARITY PETITION CANDIDATE FOR 2nd VICE PRESIDENT

Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude at Dartmouth.  President of the Dartmouth Forensic Union; winner of the Story Philosophy Prize. J.D., Stanford Law School; member, Stanford Law Review.  Practiced law at the U.S. EEOC, providing appellate support in law suits attacking employment discrimination. Currently a partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Washington DC office.  Writes a political blog called Power Line, along with John Hinderaker ’71 and Scott Johnson ’73, which follows national issues and ones relating to Dartmouth.  Daughter Emily is a sophomore at Dartmouth.

(Continued from Boles Statement)

“Presidents Tucker, Hopkins and Dickey believed and lived this principle throughout their terms of leadership. Never once did any of them question the alumni right to nominate 50% of the Board of Trustees. They welcomed this alumni involvement, encouraged it, and instituted various methods of alumni participation, many of which persist in the life of the College.  When President Dickey stepped down in 1970, Dartmouth had surged ahead of those fine other New England colleges; since then continued good leadership and intense alumni support have widened the gap.

“Dartmouth’s alumni support is legendary. Following the 1891 Agreement, the Association raised funds to relieve the severe financial problems.  Since then, alumni giving has been enormous – $39.1 million in fiscal 2007.  Dartmouth has usually led all colleges in America in percentage of alumni who make contributions.  Approximately 7,400 applicants were interviewed by alumni in the most recent year; the total number of alumni volunteer hours is estimated at 230,000.

“So we believe the answer to ‘What made Dartmouth great?’ goes back to 1891, to the unique Agreement with alumni and the succession of superb leadership in its wake. Now the current Board of Trustees, with a blithe disregard for history, intends to destroy the centerpiece of the historic accord that brought Dartmouth its legendary level of alumni support. We believe that as the years go by, a diminished, marginalized alumni body would not be able to maintain the same level of support, and as that declines, so too would Dartmouth decline -- again.  We will not let that happen on our watch, so we ask for your vote for all the petition candidates –

Murphy/Boles/Mirengoff/Chambers/Gado/Hafer/Mooney/Roberts/Ross/Steel & Urstadt

– so that we may continue the effort of the Association of Alumni to stop the Trustees’ Board-packing plan.”

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