Education: Civility For Dartmouth

As president of Dartmouth for the past six years, says David McLaughlin, part of his job has been “to make the students and the faculty somewhat uncomfortable.” He may have been too successful. Although the former president of the Toro manufacturing company has more than doubled the college’s endowment, his handling of antiapartheid protests and a conservative student newspaper drew sharp criticism. Moreover, many faculty members resent his tough management style and lack of academic experience. In October, McLaughlin disclosed he would step down.

Last week Dartmouth’s board of trustees announced an “almost perfect” replacement: James Freedman, 51, president of the University of Iowa and a former dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Freedman’s tone seemed promising. Issues should be debated in a “climate of civility,” he said, which should include “tolerance of maddeningly different points of view.”