2008 Association of Alumni Candidates

J. Michael Murphy '61, Windermere, FL
INDEPENDENT, PRO-PARITY PETITION CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT

U.S. Army Officer; two years active duty. M.B.A., Harvard Business School. Built the largest industrial container recycling business in the Southeast; sold to Industrial Container Services, 1998.  Founded American Container Net, Inc., 2004; currently Director.  Past chairman of both the national and international industry trade associations.  Daughter, Erin, graduated1995.

Current VP, Class of 1961. Treasurer, SAE fraternity. Past President, Dartmouth Club of Central Florida; helped establish DCCF Scholarship Fund. Current alumni interviewer.  Dartmouth Alumni Council, 1982-85.  Past President, Dartmouth Rugby Football Club, significant contributor to Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse.  Class Project Officer, 1991-96, responsible for life-size bronze sculpture of Robert Frost, a gift to the College from Class of 1961 at the 35th Reunion.

“I have been nominated by alumni petition and I fully support the efforts of the 2007- 2008 Association of Alumni Executive Committee to prevent the Board of Trustees from discarding the 1891 Agreement which has guaranteed for 116 years that Dartmouth alumni elect 50% of the Board.  I believe diminishing the role that alumni play in the life of the College will harm Dartmouth, and I pledge to support all reasonable efforts to prevent Trustees from destroying alumni democracy.

“To explain what motivates me so strongly to stop the Trustees’ takeover of alumni rights, I have joined with the petition candidates for 1st VP (Bert Boles ’80) and 2nd VP (Paul Mirengoff ’71) in submitting a joint statement to explain our views.  This begins here, continues through Bert’s statement, and concludes with Paul’s statement.

“In many ways, our beliefs today are informed by the answer to the question, ‘What made Dartmouth so great?’  Like all alumni, we take enormous pride today at Dartmouth having been at the highest level of American colleges.  Even today, by many standards – especially by the number of outstanding applicants – Dartmouth is still nonpareil.

“Looking back to the second half of the 19th century, however, no one would have predicted this.  The College was very small, and getting deeper and deeper into trouble.  Many of the other private colleges that date from this era – e.g., Bowdoin (1794); Union (1795); Hamilton (1812); Colgate (1819); Trinity (1823) – were equal or superior to Dartmouth.  These are all very fine schools, but the simple fact is that today Dartmouth has surpassed them all – Dartmouth is on another level.

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