<p>Dartmouth has named Provost Carol L. Folt the interim president. Any thoughts or opinions about her?</p>
<p>While I disagree with a lot of what Joe Asch says, I do have to agree with his assessment of Folt. </p>
<p>[Dartblog:</a> “Parsing the Carol Folt Annoucement”](<a href=“Dartblog.com”>Dartblog.com)</p>
<p>Has had little positive effect on the College, throws up a lot of red tape, and likes to create and commit to administrative bloat instead of student life. An expected appointment by the Board which has shown little in the way of ingenuity, especially in the last few years.</p>
<p>That said, Dartmouth remains a fantastic school and I wouldn’t trade my time there for anything.</p>
<p>There was nothing the board could do here. It made no sense to bring in an outsider for a temporary position and she was the obvious in house candidate. The fact that she took herself out of the running for the permanent position should tell everybody that the board intends to go out and do a legit search and find a worthy President for Dartmouth. Folt will simply be a caretaker until the new President is selected. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t read anything into the selection, they were in a tough spot.</p>
<p>Agreed. It was the most obvious choice for an interim president, and any other choice would have been a surprise. But the student and faculty disdain for Folt further hurts the relationship between the administration and the people who are actually important for the College. Hopefully the search for a permanent president finds somebody who actually has a history in academia and an administrator with a history of high level research and teaching - somebody who actually embodies what Dartmouth is.</p>
<p>Thank you, rightnotleft. I had only read the bland press release, so feel much more informed by the Dartblog piece and its link to a grading controversy a few years ago. May Folt only have to hold down the fort briefly.</p>
<p>Kim left the College in a big hole. There is no way to conduct a thorough search in 90 days, so an interim was the only solution. The story in the D about Folt continuing Kim’s programs…well, duh! If the first thing she does is undo Kim’s programs…would just be stupid. </p>
<p>Reading Joe Asch’s column brought back memories since my S was on campus at the time. As a parent, I think the Admin was correct in canceling his writing program. At $50k/yr, the College should not be using retired high school teachers to teach undergraduates how to write. Instead, the College should pay real faculty members to do the job. As for Dick’s House…all college campus health programs are horrible. Sick students are always “turned away” not only in Hanover, but at every other college health center. They are all over-priced and serve mostly as a drunk tank on weekends. (To improve their budgets, they should send a bill home to the parents for a one-nights’ stay to dry out.)</p>
<p>btw: the role of a Prez nowadays is glad handing and soliciting donations, something the faculty doesn’t get or will not accept.</p>