Dartblog

Correspondents have checked in with good reasons for the College not to behave shortsightedly in selling the Minary Center.

At one point, Magdalen College at Oxford contemplated auctioning off an Assyrian relief which had been given to it in the 19th century. The relief was worth millions. But after sober consideration, policymakers there realized that such a sale would have a long-lasting chilling effect on non-cash donations — which over the centuries had been the source of some of Magdalen’s greatest treasures. Donors, it seems, do not want to think that the institution to which they just gave their First Folio might flog it for cash at a later date.

Additionally, while the College has been unimaginative in its use of Minary, the Center has nonetheless been a vital off-campus meeting ground for faculty and administrators. Professors and deans bunk together, brainstorm, get to know each other, and generally think creatively about the direction of their respective departments, programs and the College itself. At an institution that has been bereft of creative inspiration over the past decades, Minary could be used to re-start the flow of ideas from professors to the Administration.

Finally, as I wrote the other day, the current real estate market for luxury properties like Minary is mixed at the very best. In the present climate, large corporations are loathe to splash our money for ostentatious retreats, and the private equity world is spending cautiously. A professional in the luxury property field tells me that the College will probably get one or two low-ball offers for Minary in short order, but then bidders will fold their arms and wait for the asking price to come down. In the end, Dartmouth could lose an irreplaceable functioning asset for an embarrassingly low price.