2010 Association of Alumni Executive Committee Candidates

Diane E. Ellis ’08
Petition Nominated Candidate for Second Vice President

Biography
Diane is the Associate Producer for Uncommon Knowledge, the interview-format television series of Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Additionally, she conducts research on the Cold War at Hoover and directs new media strategies at Ricochet, an internet start-up launching in spring 2010. At Dartmouth, Diane was active in her sorority, served on the leadership committee of the Navigators Christian Fellowship, and was student manager of the Hopkins Center Box Office. Since graduating with high honors from the Russian Department in 2008, Diane has remained connected with Dartmouth by serving as an alumni interviewer.

Statement
I adopt the statement of J. Michael Murphy and urge the election of our entire Dartmouth United slate.

There is no force in all of academia like you, the Dartmouth alumni. I saw this as a student when thousands flooded into Hanover for Dartmouth Homecoming. And now I see my fellow alumni cheerfully and generously donating their time and financial resources to ensure Dartmouth’s continued well-being and security.

So I was disappointed when alumni parity was eliminated on Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees. This decision sent an unfortunate message to young alumni like me that our voices have been diluted, that our involvement doesn’t count as much, and that the ground rules have changed.

The Dartmouth class of 2008—my class—was the first in 117 years to face this situation right out of the gate. But we’re all equally affected.

Our experiences at Dartmouth gave us unique expertise and insight. We shouldn’t be denied the privilege of putting them to use in electing Trustees who will actually have the undiluted power to look out for the next generation of undergraduates.

Dartmouth is a dynamic place. We’ve just welcomed the leadership of President Jim Kim. The College is struggling to find high ground during a global economic storm. And an evolving curriculum ensures that our undergraduate and graduate instruction (and the overall Dartmouth experience) is unmatched anywhere in America.

I believe reintroducing the principle of parity on the Board of Trustees is the best way for Dartmouth to recognize the invaluable resource that the alumni—all the alumni—can be if they have a seat at the table. Dartmouth will keep confronting challenges and improving itself, but diminishing the alumni role in the governance process is not the way to achieve the kind of excellence that makes Dartmouth College the best she can be.

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