Todd Zywicki ’88 Announces Trustee Bid

Todd Zywicki ’88 today announced his bid to be a write-in candidate for the Board of Trustees.

A law professor at George Mason University, Zywicki served for two years as Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the United States Federal Trade Commission, and he regularly contributes commentary to various publications and news programs. Zywicki, a member of Zeta Psi fraternity and a fan of Indian football, graduated cum laude with high honors before attending law school at Virginia and earning a masters in economics from Clemson.

His goals as a Trustee are refreshing:

Rededicate Dartmouth to its mission of undergraduate education: Dartmouth should rededicate itself to this mission and resist efforts to transform Dartmouth into a research university at the expense of its traditional undergraduate focus. As readers of the Conspiracy are aware, I am especially interested in working to protect free speech at Dartmouth.

Rededicate Dartmouth to the recruitment and development of well-rounded students: Dartmouth traditionally has been a leader in focusing on the development of well-rounded students. I believe that Ivy League sports competition is part of that mission (for a contrary view, see Dartmouth Dean Karl Furstenberg’s comments in “Dean Knocked Football Culture” from the Valley News).

Align Dartmouth’s financial priorities with its core mission of excellence in undergraduate education: Dartmouth’s lack of focus on its core mission has led to confused financial priorities. In recent years, spending on the administrative bureacracy has risen twice as fast as spending on academic programs. The confusion over financial priorities was evidenced by an editorial last week the official student newspaper, The Dartmouth published an editorial, that criticized the growth in class sizes and the inability of students to even get into certain necessary classes.

Improve College governance through greater openness and transparency:I will seek to improve College governance through greater openness and transparency, and will work to insure that all stakeholders are fully informed about what is going on at the College and will have a voice in the governance of the College. I will not just “rubber stamp” the proposals of anybody.

Copies of his letter to alumni and a petition—due February 17th—can be found on his election website.

Dartmouth’s last write-in Trustee candidate, T.J. Rodgers ’70, won handily last year. Can lightning strike twice?