GSE to Host Retiring Ivy President

In the coming year, Neil L. Rudenstine will not be the only college president on campus. He will have company from James O. Freedman, the retiring fifteenth president of Dartmouth College.

According to Director of Public Affairs Alex Huppe, Freedman will spend the year writing a book at the Graduate School of Education (GSE).

Freedman announced his decision last September to resign from Dartmouth's presidency after eleven years. He plans to return to Dartmouth as a professor after his Harvard sabbatical.

Dean of the GSE Jerome T. Murphy said that the time will give Freedman the opportunity to write without interference.

"[Freedman's] main goal is to get the time and space to write a book and we want to honor that," Murphy said.

Murphy did not know what subjects Freedman is considering for his new book but highlighted several areas of Freedman's expertise.

"He is an expert on the place of higher education in the broader society and issues of management and governance in higher education," Murphy said.

"He comes with a legal background so he has a deep understanding of legal issues affecting institutions and individuals," he added.

Lecturer on Education Judith B. McLaughlin said that, although Freedman will have no formal responsibilities, he will also interact with students and faculty.

"He will be available to meet with students [and] will be a guest speaker in a number of classes," McLaughlin said.

Freedman is widely praised as a leader in higher education. Before taking the top post at Dartmouth, Freedman was president of the University of Iowa for five years.

"I would say that Jim Freedman was one of the great college presidents in the past ten years," McLaughlin said.

Dartmouth Director of Public Affairs Laurel Stavis noted the many accomplishments that mark Freedman's tenure as Dartmouth's president.

"Certainly he has enhanced the intellectual atmosphere at Dartmouth. He has initiated or enlarged several academic departments [and] he led an enormously successful capital campaign," Stavis said.

Freedman is also praised for remaining an intellectual while playing the role of administrator.

"[Freedman] managed to be an academic intellectual and a civic leader during his tenure," McLaughlin said.

Freedman won the Frederic W. Ness Award for his book Idealism and Liberal Education, published in 1996.

"He's interested in pursuing other things at this point in his life," said Stavis.

James Wright, the current provost of Dartmouth, has been named as Freedman's successor. He takes office in August.