2010 Alumni Trustee Candidates

Joseph Asch ’79 (Petition Nominated)

Biography
Joseph Asch graduated from the Yale Law School in 1983 and worked at Bain & Company in London before starting two entrepreneurial businesses: a medical products company based in England that sells products of Joe’s design in 30 countries, and a fitness facility in Lebanon, NH.

As a student, Joe worked at WDCR/WFRD, was a Rassias drill instructor in French and Italian, taught skiing, played numerous intramural sports, and studied in Germany, Italy, and California. Over the past two decades, Joe has audited 30 Dartmouth courses, and in 1998, he conceived and funded the College’s Departmental Editing Program (DEP), placing full-time writing editors in the Art History, Religion and Math departments between 1998-2007. Since 2001 he has written over 30 columns in student publications concerning the challenges facing the College. He currently writes for Dartblog.com, the College’s leading blog.

In addition to funding DEP, Joe has made significant donations to the Rassias Foundation, Professor Jim Murphy’s Daniel Webster Project, Professor Faith Dunne’s education research, and several Dartmouth varsity teams.

Joe lives in Hanover with his wife, Elizabeth; their son, Henry; and daughter, Tory.

Statement
President Kim is determined to restore Dartmouth’s financial health and drive the College we love to new levels of excellence, but to achieve these goals, he needs the support of Board members who know the College in depth, and who have the independence to question past practices and advocate for innovation.

A lack of real diversity on the Board of Trustees has led to a sameness of thought among its members — and a repetition of past mistakes. Our Board is over-weight with financiers who cannot devote the time necessary to understand the College. Lofty phrases about preeminence and passion are no substitute for serious, detail-oriented oversight of the administration, a perspective that has been under-represented on the Board for far too long.

I have been involved in the daily life of the College for almost two decades: I’ve audited classes; invited groups of students to my home; attended myriad varsity games; and come to know professors, administrators and coaches as neighbors and trusted friends. I’ve observed Dartmouth close at hand, deepening my appreciation of the College’s strengths — and acquiring an acute sense of the challenges facing President Kim.

In serving on the Board, I would focus on the following areas:  

Ensure fiscal prudence: We must end the boom-and-bust budget cycles wherein the College spends every available penny when the endowment grows, and then makes painful cuts when the markets slip back — which they inevitably do. Over the past decade, as the endowment soared, the percentage that the Administration drew from it increased even more, rising from the traditional range of 4.5-5.5% to over 7%, the highest draw in the Ivy League. Non-faculty staffing grew from 2,408 to 3,417 employees between 1999-2008. In addition, for every dollar of salary expense, the College spends 40 cents on fringe benefits; the other Ivies spend 25-28 cents. In 2009, employee benefits cost $125 million, one sixth of the budget.

End course oversubscriptions and reduce class size: Alumni from before the Class of 2000 were almost never shut out of oversubscribed classes; today’s students must often negotiate entry into their classes. Each term when they select courses, students must sign up for three first-choice and three back-up courses.

Restore dormitory continuity: Students now live in numerous different dorms during their undergraduate lives. Each time they return to campus, a housing lottery randomly sends them to a new dorm, mostly filled with other new arrivals. Community life at Dartmouth would be richer if students had the option of returning to a home dorm.

Teach writing and speaking effectively: The College must ensure that our graduates, without exception, possess the writing and speaking skills that are a prerequisite to achievement in any field.

Restore board parity: In 1998, Jim Wright called Dartmouth “a research university in all but name”; today, President Kim is working to make Dartmouth the world’s finest undergraduate college. This change resulted from the alumni outcry in electing Petition Trustees. Once again, parity served Dartmouth well. The Board should respect the agreement reached in 1891 because this is the honorable thing to do — and it is the best choice for Dartmouth.

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