Faculty Letter to Jim Yong Kim, Board of Trustees and the Upper Valley Community

January 25, 2010

Dartmouth College and professional schools will soon announce cuts to make up a $100 million budget shortfall over the next two years. Last year Dartmouth cut $70 million and the past administration estimated at the end of the academic year that we would need to cut a further $30 million. Since then that estimate has more than doubled, although the market has slowly turned around and even though the college has just raised $1.3 billion dollars in the campaign for the "Dartmouth experience." In President Kim's statements to the college community and to the Valley News, we are told that impending cuts will "likely" result in layoffs. We urge the President and the Trustees not to act precipitously. Slow down the process. Think creatively. We do not believe that wholesale layoffs at this time are necessary, desirable or moral. On the contrary, we believe further layoffs at Dartmouth will undermine the Dartmouth experience that President Kim has vowed to preserve. Deep cuts at Dartmouth will also have an adverse effect on the economy of the Upper Valley, as laid-off workers cut their spending at area businesses.

We reject the argument that we must make layoffs because our donors (present and future) are demanding that Dartmouth streamline in this time of economic crisis, as so many business corporations are currently doing. Dartmouth has been an economic anchor in this region for over two hundred years. It is precisely because times are difficult economically that we are calling on the senior officials of this college to take the kind of stand that will affirm Dartmouth as a leader in this region and among academic institutions nationally. We believe that every food service worker, computer consultant, administrative assistant, custodian and librarian contributes to the Dartmouth experience, as much as do students, faculty and senior administrators. Talking with them when we pick up our children from daycare, shop in the supermarket, and work together in our departments, we can sense their anxiety about possibly losing their jobs. A strong sense of community and interdependence among those of us who work, study and teach here is central to what makes the Dartmouth experience so special. Social responsibility is an essential "core value" of a liberal arts education. Dartmouth College cannot behave like Wall Street and fulfill its broader mission. Indeed, by emulating the ethics of Wall Street, Dartmouth runs the risk that it will share its fate.

We understand that the administration is proposing to cut positions at all levels of the institution, but some Dartmouth employees are more vulnerable than others. There are faculty, especially adjuncts, who will be affected. So will staff and administrators at all points on the campus pay scale. Still, we fear that proposed cuts will disproportionately affect low-paid workers, especially union members and non-union staff. Two cost-saving practices, one already begun and one being contemplated, are of particular concern. The first is unpaid "furloughs," which have already been forced on some low-paid employees. Their jobs have been cut back from 12 months to 9 months a year. Not only will they have to live on 75% of what they had previously been earning, but they will not receive medical coverage for three months out of every year. At a time when Dartmouth is proposing to become a national leader in health care reform, it should not be cutting medical benefits of Dartmouth employees. Surely, there are ways to lower costs of medical coverage without hurting those who can least afford it.

Secondly, we are concerned about the practice of subcontracting various services at the college to workers who are not Dartmouth employees. Subcontracting has been historically used to undermine workers' pay, job security, seniority and benefits. We urge Dartmouth to steer clear of such labor practices. Furthermore, when work is done by those who are not Dartmouth employees, it is rarely done with the same pride and care for the Dartmouth community as long-time employees have shown. That, too, undermines the Dartmouth experience.

Despite our concern with the way cuts are being made, we do understand that the college must make some changes to meet budget shortfalls. We urge senior administrators to do so in a way that is fair and equitable. All Dartmouth employees, especially those most senior and whose pay is greatest, should share the pain of budget cuts. What kinds of alternatives can we come up with? What sacrifices can we all make? Here are some suggestions.

I - Put all construction projects on hold until we have raised sufficient funds to cover annual maintenance costs.  The college could think about asking donors if we could not divert some funds from current donations for construction projects to retaining jobs.

II - The College could reconsider some of its athletic programs to determine whether any of them can be cut back without harming the overall mission of the Athletic Department or causing any layoffs.

III - Senior faculty, coaches, and college administrators could be asked to take pay cuts. Those with the highest salaries should be asked to take the most significant cuts.  The argument has been made that such cuts would hurt the college's ability to recruit top employees, but we believe that talented faculty and administrators would be drawn to an institution where their colleagues have demonstrated commitment to the values of community and shared sacrifice in tough times.

IV - The college could sell off some assets to preserve jobs.

V - If there are to be furloughs, we suggest a two-week unpaid furlough across the board for all employees, so that the burden is distributed fairly. Medical coverage must be continued through this time, however.

VI - The idea of closing the college from Thanksgiving through the New Year is worth pursuing, but we do not want to see this measure cost low-paid workers more than they can afford. Salary savings from this closure should come from higher-paid workers. Again, medical coverage must be continued for all during this time.

This week, as we honor the memory and legacy of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., we cannot but remember that he was shot down as he stood with the sanitation workers of Memphis, affirming their right to decent wages, working conditions and full human dignity. In tribute to his memory and his work, we stand with the staff and workers of our institution. And we urge you to do the same.

In respect and solidarity,


1. Annelise Orleck, History
2. Ivy Schweitzer, English
3. Misagh Parsa, Sociology
4. Roberta Stewart, Classics
5. N. Bruce Duthu, Native American Studies
6. Celia Naylor, History
7. Russell Rickford, History
8. Matissa Hollister, Sociology
9. Naaborko Sackeyfio, History
10. Douglas Haynes, History
11. Steven Ericson, History
12. Walter Simons, History
13. Tanalis Padilla, History
14. Silvia Spitta, Spanish
15. Richard Kremer, History
16. Melissa Zeiger, English
17. Jonathan Crewe, English
18. Susan Blader, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures
19. Irene Kacandes, German
20. Jeremy Rutter, Classics
21. Jean Kim, History
22. Antonio Tillis, African and African-American Studies
23. Laura Edmondson, Theater
24. Margaret Williamson, Classics
25. Mona Domosh, Geography
26. Cynthia Huntington, English
27. Keala Jewell, French and Italian
28. Lee Witters, Biology/Dartmouth Medical School
29. Margaret Darrow, History
30. Giavanna Munafo, Women's and Gender Studies
31. David LaGuardia, French and Italian
32. Rebecca Biron, Spanish and Portugese
33. Mary Coffee, Art History
34. James Igoe, Anthropology
35. Pavitra Sundar, Leslie Center Mellon Fellow
36. Ernie Hebert , English
37. Woon Ping Chin, English
38. Aimee Bahng, English
39. Susannah Heschel, Religion/Jewish Studies
40. Andrew Garrod, Education
41. John Donaghy, English
42. Barbara Kreiger, English
43. Peter Travis, English
44. William Nichols, English
45. Lawrence Kritzman, French and Italian
46. Cleopatra Mathis, English
47. Alex Barnett, Math
48. James Dorsey, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures
49. Klaus Mladek, German
50. Jennifer Fluri, Geography/Women's and Gender Studies
51. Michelle Warren, Comparative Literature
52. Paula Sprague, Spanish and Portugese
53. James Graham, Mathematics
54. Peter Winkler, Mathematics
55. Carl Pomerance, Mathematics
56. Donald Pease, English
57. Nancy Jay Crumbine, English
58. Lynn Higgins, French and Italian
59. Diana Abouali, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures
60. Gary Lenhart, English
61. Cybelle Merrick, Psychiatry
62. Laura Conkey, Geography
63. Faith Beasley, French and Italian
64. Soyica Colbert, English
65. Terry Osborne, English
66. Monika Otter, English
67. Andrew McCann, English
68. D. Zachary Finch, English
69. Wendy Piper, English
70. Francine A'Ness, Spanish and Portugese
71. Brenda Silver, English
72. Eugene Demidenko, Mathematics
73. Susanne Freiberg, Geography
74. Gerd Gemunden, German
75. Christopher MacEvitt, Religion