Hanover
Environmentalists have questioned whether the gift is intended to influence research at the Arthur L. Irving Institute of Energy and Society. But Bill Helman, chairman of Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees, praised the Irving family for committing to climate research and said they’ll have “zero influence” on the institute.
“We have a family that is the most amazing sponsor ever. I mean, we couldn’t have dreamed up a better sponsor for that,” Helman told more than 250 people gathered for a “town hall” event at the Tuck School of Business.
College officials have big plans for the institute, which will require $160 million to be fully functional by 2020. Included in those costs are plans for a new building somewhere near the Tuck Mall on the western end of campus.
Aside from donations from Irving Oil and the Irving family — Arthur Irving is chairman of the company — at least $33 million also has been raised from alumni, the college announced in September. But some audience members at Tuesday’s event felt uneasy about the Canadian oil giant’s involvement.
“Can you understand and acknowledge why the establishment of the Irving energy institute seems problematic both in appearance and in substance, and can you say something beyond the press release about why we should feel better about that?” asked one woman from the audience.
Helman said he knows some may look at Irving and its many gas stations and wonder, “What are you collaborating with that group for?”
“And yet if you get underneath that — and I don’t know that we’ve done the best job explaining this — but if you get underneath that, actually the Irving family and the company is incredibly committed to the environment,” Helman said.
The family understands the need to academic freedom once the institute gets running, he said, adding he wouldn’t be as comfortable with other oil firms making the same move.
Helman, a partner in the Greylock venture capital firm who is stepping down from the Dartmouth board in June, appeared with Rick Mills, Dartmouth’s executive vice president who is hosting a series of community forums at the college.
Helman devoted much of his time on Tuesday to addressing questions about Dartmouth’s future. For an hour, alumni, students and staff peppered him with questions about the value of a liberal arts education, dissatisfaction among students and the school’s actions toward neighbors in Hanover.
“Not just Dartmouth, but higher ed more generally is more than ever before perceived as a pre-career training ground,” Helman said when asked about the college’s liberal arts programs. “There’s more pressure than ever before to get a good job.”
That’s why colleges across the country are seeing more students entering computer science and economics programs, he said. And although Dartmouth needs to know what students are looking for, Helman said, it also needs to learn to make a difference using liberal arts.
“We need to continue to offer what we’re good at, which is the liberal arts, but we just need to do it in a way that’s consistent with where the world is in 2017,” he said.
During the event, Helman said the school needs to make greater strides in attracting students from around the world and also ensuring that graduating students appeal to employers internationally.
He also praised efforts made to curtail dangerous student behavior and improve the college’s global image.
“I’m pretty realistic about our strengths and weaknesses and a weakness over a long period of time has been communications,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of misses on the people who run communications, we’ve often been defensive and on our heels.”
When asked about dissatisfaction among Dartmouth students, Helman wasn’t as sure about what is causing consternation among students. Although he meets with hundreds of students a year, Helman said, he didn’t have data to back up specific theories.
“I want every student to be happy but I also understand that 100 percent is probably not achievable,” he said. “I’m willing to break a little bit of glass to do what I think is the right thing as a board chair.”
Overall, Helman said he wants to continue advocating for Dartmouth as he winds down eight years on the board, and didn’t rule out any changes happening during his last month on the job.
“We’re trying to up our academic game, and we’re pursuing academic excellence in a number of areas and that’s important, we’re trying to improve the student experience,” he said after the event. “We’ve got a lot to do.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.