The Illiberal College - Elite academia doesn't like oversight

OpinionJournal.com ^ | September 2, 2007 | Editorial Staff

[gpapa]

One of the more momentous cases in Supreme Court history, Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), involved an attempt by the state of New Hampshire to wrest control of the privately chartered school from its board of trustees. But a corporate charter like Dartmouth's, the Marshall Court ruled, is the same as a private contract; the state could not simply annex the school.

The sanctity of contract has preserved the independence of not a few colleges and universities. But institutions of higher learning now shy from the same oversight their faculties have demanded of the corporate world, and some of the lessons learned in that 1819 case are being unlearned. Consider the Dartmouth of today, still serenely humming on the banks of the Connecticut River, but home to what appears to be a power play against its own alumni.

In 1891, Dartmouth agreed to a pact that instituted a novel scheme of democratic governance. Alumni--the school's financial underwriters--won the right to elect half of its non-administrative or ex officio trustees, who oversee the school and hire and fire its president. (The remaining seats are filled by appointment and typically go to big donors.)

[YHAOS]

Why should the WSJ, or anyone else, be surprised at the behavior of the academics. This is just one more evidence of their mantra . . . 'Rules for Thee, but Not for Me.'

[Dumb_Ox]

People concerned about the quality of higher ed need to pay close attention to regent elections in both private and public schools. Otherwise the status quo remains unchallenged.

[VOA]

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