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College Investment Practices Take Hit
Bloomberg is the latest media outlet to give a voice to criticism of the College’s investment practices. Yesterday Joshua Humphreys of the Tellus Institute was interviewed at length on the conflict of interest facing many members of the Board of Trustees.
Humphreys rightly points out that when an investment decision involving Board Chair Steve Mandel ‘78 or Investment Committee Chair Bill Helman ‘80 comes up, and either one of them leaves the room, the remaining committee members are hardly free to make decisions in the best interests of the College. Firstly, the committee members know well that Mandel or Helman won’t be happy with a negative decision, and secondly, if they vote “no” on a Mandel/Helman investment, it is possible that Mandel and Helman will turn around and vote “no” on one of the members’ proposals. So, in the end, everyone learns to play nicely with each other — to the detriment of the College. No clearer conflict of interest between Dartmouth’s interests and that of individual Trustees can be imagined.
Addendum: Good to see Bloomberg doing incisive reporting on the College’s affairs. Michael Bloomberg’s significant other is Trustee Diana Taylor ‘77.
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