Dartblog

Let’s play a parlor game and see what you would do if you had to make the decisions that President Kim is called upon to take.

Scenario 1: A wealthy alum offers the College an inflation-adjusted annuity of $500,000/year. Would you: a) hire three professors; b) re-hire six newly laid-off clerical workers?

Scenario 2: Your cost-cutters tell you that by using a computerized payroll system, you can lay off six clerical workers and use the savings to hire three professors. Would you: a) lay off the clerical workers and hire three professors; b) protect employment in the Upper Valley and keep the clerical workers on staff?

In a nutshell, these are among the issues facing President Kim. Folks like Dartmouth Students Stand with Staff and the Gang of 75 would seemingly choose Answer b) in both instances. On the other hand, Economics Professor Doug Irwin and this writer roll their eyes that anyone could even contemplate anything other than Answer a). And I expect so would the parents of any student paying tuition to study in Hanover.

What would you do? Do you value the avoidance of short-term dislocation to the lives of real people over the long-term health of the College?

President Kim has given us his answer. In The D today, a story describes how in numerous departments the hiring of needed faculty members continues apace — despite the layoffs that are taking place around us. That’s leadership.

As I have said before, we no longer have a split-the-difference President. Jim Kim has a vision for excellence at Dartmouth and he is not turning away from it despite pressures from people with other concerns.

Note: Ironically, The D’s story details that two of the newly hired professors will be Professors of English. Of the members of Gang of 75, 22 were English profs, who, it seems — when push comes to shove for their own department — stand for academic excellence over the interests of the staff. At least they support in practice the values that they cannot abide in theory.

Another Note: An alert reader urges me to clarify how three new profs could cost the College $500k. This figure is what is called in industry a fully loaded cost. It takes into account fringe benefits, payroll taxes, support functions, and all other overheads. These latter items are such a burden to the College that $500k could probably only get us three up-and-coming faculty members, not three highly regarded full professors.