2010 Association of Alumni Executive Committee Candidates

John H. Mathias Jr. '69
Association of Alumni Nominated Candidate for President

Biography
John is a senior partner in the law firm of Jenner & Block in Chicago. At Dartmouth he was a member of the varsity basketball team, the Undergraduate Council, Dragon (president), Phi Delt (rush chairman), Naval ROTC (XO), and Phi Beta Kappa. After Harvard Law School (1972), he served three years in the Navy. A financial aid recipient, he has led the annual Dartmouth Club of Chicago Scholarship fund drive for 27 years and has served on his last five class reunion giving committees. He and Julie have five Dartmouth children (’07, ’09, ’09, ’11, ’11) and are currently co-chairs of the Family Fellows Committee of the Dartmouth Parents Fund. He is a founder of the Dartmouth Lawyers Association, a senior trustee of The Latin School of Chicago, past president of the Harvard Law Society of Illinois, and chair of the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project.

Statement
Our Unity Slate remains committed to civility, collegiality, and constructive interaction with the board of trustees, the administration, and the entire Dartmouth alumni community.

In these challenging financial times, Dartmouth alumni should be united in support of the finest undergraduate college anywhere and our superb new President Jim Yong Kim. 

Immediately after taking office in June 2008, we ended the divisive lawsuit against Dartmouth filed without alumni approval by the previous Executive Committee.   We then opened a collegial, still continuing dialogue with the board about the prospect of increasing the number of elected alumni trustees.  In 2009 we successfully advanced a constitutional amendment making alumni trustee election procedures simple, decisive and fair.   Last December we again met with Board Chair Haldeman to review the steps we have taken to advance the case for adding more elected trustees.  We are looking forward to further meetings with him and other trustees on this important subject.

Now, a second “mirror image” lawsuit against Dartmouth is being pursued by the Hanover Institute, the sponsor of our opponents in this election and of the lawsuit we ended in June 2008.  Unlike the Hanover Institute, we do not believe litigation is an appropriate means for alumni to resolve their political differences. Worse, it diverts precious financial and other resources away from faculty and students. We must put a lasting stop to it.

Please vote for our Unity Slate to affirm civility, collegiality and persuasion as the appropriate means for advancing alumni interests in the welfare of our College.

Please also vote for John Replogle and Morton Kondracke for trustee.

View the Association of Alumni Nominated Candidates Web site.

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