John Manaras '67 (Chair)  •  Hugh O'Reilly '86 (Vice Chair)  •  Richard Ackerboom '80, '85Th
Errik Anderson  '00, '06Th, '07Tu  •   Jennifer Argenti '99   •   Alan Barstow '75  •  Peter Benzenian '64
Niranjan Bose A'04  •  Grant Bosse '94  •   Martin Bowne '63  •  Stina Brock '01, '02Th
Robert Charles '87  •  Evy Chan '77  •  Dave Dookeeram '99  •  Peter Elias '69  •  Sue Gaylor '93
Zachary Greenhill  '75  •  Peter Hackett '75   •  Martin Lempres '84  •  Roy Lewicki '64  •  Jay Miller '82
Philip Mone '02  •   Michael Posey '98  •  Kathryn Robbins '85   •  James Schaefer '48, '49Tu
Shounak Simlai '05   •   David Strife '69  •  Tom West  '77

The Committee on Academic Affairs serves as a principal interface between the faculty and the Alumni Council of Dartmouth College such that: a strong, ongoing relationship is established, alumni are kept informed about the curriculum and other elements of the Dartmouth academic experience, a platform is created for alumni to communicate with the faculty, and ways are explored for the faculty to benefit from the background and experiences of alumni and for the alumni to access faculty scholarship and other academic resources of the College. The committee consists of a minimum of six members of the Alumni Council, the chair of the Faculty Committee on Policy, the chair of the Faculty Committee on Instruction, the faculty representative to the Alumni Council, a representative of the Provost's office, the Dean of Graduate Studies and a representative of the Dean of the Faculty.

Report from the 198th Alumni Council, May 14–16, 2009:  Chair Greg Chittim '01, '03Th welcomed Lindsay Whaley, chair of the linguistics and cognitive science program and associate dean for interdisciplinary studies, who spoke to the committee about interdisciplinary teaching and the international studies minor. Professor Whaley was followed by Robert Resutek, an assistant professor at Tuck, who shared his experiences teaching the first undergraduate business course on accounting.

Greg then explained that committee members would soon receive a link to an online bibliography of reading lists recommended by the faculty who presented at the December Alumni Council meeting (Don Pease, Aine Donovan, and Chris Jernstedt). There was no further discussion on this topic. The committee then elected Hugh O'Reilly '86 as the vice chair. The meeting closed with a gathering of ideas for future topics:

• Update on Native American studies by the current chair, Bruce Duthu '80;
• What makes Dartmouth academics unique from other institutions;
• Information on the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL);
• Dartmouth's re-accreditation;
• Academic integrity;
• The status of visiting, adjunct, and non-tenure track professors, including how many classes each group is teaching;
• Tenure process and the role of students and course evaluations;
• Ethnic and regional studies;
• Presentation by Mary Flanagan, professor of film and television studies and chair of digital humanities.

Report from the 197th Alumni Council, December 4–6, 2008:  The meeting began with a presentation from Brian Pogue, director of graduate studies and professor at the Thayer School of Engineering. He reviewed the state of graduate studies at Dartmouth and offered comparisons to peer institutions. The committee posed a number of questions about:  

• the possibility of online programs at Dartmouth
• Pogue's thoughts re: university vs. college
• the performance of PhD students compared to those at peer institutions
• the growth of graduate programs
• cooperation between career services offices at the College and professional schools/graduate programs

The committee also discussed the possibility of publishing book lists/recommended reading lists from faculty so that alumni could read these, but the committee did not come to a resolution. The primary topic of conversation shifted to alumni access to actual class materials. The MIT and other university open courseware seemed of interest, but the faculty in attendance indicated that it wouldn't work well for many classes. The faculty also mentioned that it isn't as simple as acquiring a reading list from syllabi, since much of this material is academic and journal-oriented.

Roberta Moore mentioned ACE on Audio, which many councilors hadn't heard about until we introduced it in Alumni College at Reunion lectures councilors attended earlier in the day. The committee members seemed excited and interested in ACE on Audio. It will be publicized more heavily.

Possible topics for the next meeting: faculty recruiting and the tenure process; outlook for academic programs – long-term academic planning review; and writing and rhetoric.

Report from the 196th Alumni Council, May 15–17, 2008:  Guest presenter Lindsay Whaley, professor of classics and associate dean for international and interdisciplinary programs, provided an overview of his responsibilities. He expounded on the implementation of the new Writing and Rhetoric Program. Dean Whaley noted Dartmouth's desire to ensure that excellent writing and public speaking skills are integral parts of the undergraduate experience. The program was established after an extensive process of committee research and input from faculty across campus. Over the course of the next few years the program will expand to accommodate the changing needs of our students, including the inclusion of writing across disciplines, and better serving the writing needs of students in foreign studies courses and international students.

New Issues and Topics of Interest: Jon Kull announced that he had recently received tenure, which raised a topic for future meetings: councilors wanted to hear about the rhythm and pace of the campus from a faculty perspective. How do faculty keep up with the bright young students, and how do they integrate research into their course offerings? Councilors wanted to learn more about the tenure process.What are the external and internal processes? What's the pressure like as one goes through the tenure process?

J.B. Daukas announced that Greg Chittim '01, '03Th, will be the chair and John Manaras '67 will be the vice chair. There were no subcommittee reports. 

Report from the 195th Alumni Council, November 29–December 1, 2007:  The Academic Affairs Committee met with Biology Professor David Peart and Chair of the French and Italian Departments Professor Lynne Higgins to discuss the College's international programs. Dartmouth is first among peer institutions in the number of undergraduates participating in foreign studies. Well over 50 percent of students study abroad with Dartmouth professors, and an additional 10 percent participate in programs overseen by others.Dartmouth's programs are exceptional in the degree to which they are integrated into the curriculum and students study with Dartmouth professors. Such programs include not only Dartmouth's famous language programs, but a range of programs in the sciences, humanities, and other disciplines. International study is available to all students regardless of wealth, but the declining value of the dollar has put pressure on international study. Assistant Dean of Faculty Jane Carroll observed that the Dartmouth Plan facilitates international study, and also helps Dartmouth attract faculty.

The Council's Academic Affairs Committee discussed working with the trustee's newly-formed Academic Affairs Committee. The alumni committee also discussed the progress of the Academic Affairs Web site, and investigation of an alumni speakers bureau intended to assist faculty by identifying and bringing accomplished alumni to campus. 

Report from the 194th Alumni Council, May 17–19, 2007: The Academic Affairs Committee met on May 18, 2007, and considered a number of pertinent academic issues.The committee discussed launching a Web-based initiative that will present topical academic programs or subjects to alumni by posting interviews with faculty members on the College Web site, and allowing for alumni feedback to the committee.The committee then evaluated the possibility of creating an "Alumni Speakers Bureau" to assist faculty members interested in bringing prominent alumni to campus to speak to their classes.The committee agreed to work with the office of the dean of faculty explore the issue.Professor Tom Jack, chairman of the biological sciences department of the College, spoke to the committee about the current, vibrant state of life sciences at Dartmouth, and gave an overview of the proposed new life sciences facility that Dartmouth plans to build in the next several years to replace Gilman Hall. Gregory Chittim'01 was elected vice chair of the committee.