March 23, 2012
To the Dartmouth Community,
[Sorry it took me over a month to write you about a campus-wide hazing scandal but less than an hour to tell you about my sick new job offer.] I write to share the news that President Barack Obama [ever heard of him?] has asked me to stand for nomination as president of the World Bank. This is one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty [you know, that shit DDS workers complain about] and providing assistance to developing countries in the world today [plus great photo ops with starving children :)]. After much reflection [repeatedly introducing myself in front of the mirror as president of the World Bank], I have accepted this nomination to national and global service.
When I assumed the presidency of Dartmouth, I did so with the full and deep belief that the mission of higher education is to prepare us for lives of leadership and service in our professions and communities [You may think I’ve used Dartmouth as a stepping stone, but we all know the point of Dartmouth is getting a sick banking job afterwards, don’t hate because mine is better]. While President Obama's call is compelling, the prospect of leaving Dartmouth at this stage is very difficult [difficult to decide which shade of white I want my new business cards in, leaning towards eggshell]. Nevertheless, should the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors elect me as the next president, I will embrace the responsibility.
As Chair of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees Steve [what’s his name, fuck it] Something '78 and I have discussed, if I am elected, our Board will take appropriate steps to ensure continuity of leadership and determine the timing of a search [They will also update their search procedures, adding the question, “do you actually want to be president of Dartmouth College?”]. For now, I remain president of Dartmouth [senior spring bitches!]. Steve and I will keep you informed of the nominating process and timing of a final decision by the World Bank next month [you could also probably read about it in a White House press release, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Economist, The New York Times, and fuck it, maybe even Yahoo! News, I don’t know.]
Sincerely,
Jim Yong Kim
[President Dr.] President, Dartmouth College
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Brilliant, just brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI laughed so hard, amazing
ReplyDeleteDartmouth is lucky to be rid of him
ReplyDeleteClimb on little man.
ReplyDeletewell played
ReplyDeleteI'll never be ashamed to go to a place that celebrates free speech, especially really funny and accurate free speech!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but this is uncalled for. How could he have used Dartmouth as a stepping stone? What indication did he have that being president of Dartmouth would help him get nominated as president for the World Bank? Nobody else moved on to bigger and better things after becoming president of Dartmouth.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of him and I think his administration has done a terrific job.
Hi, JYK. Looks like somebody got ahold of your original draft, don't be bitter.
Deleteto the person above: please name anything at all that you consider an accomplishment of his administration.
ReplyDeleteFinally an accurate portrayal haha
ReplyDeleteYou've summed up all of my gripes with Kim and his administration in a dozen parenthetical statements. you have a gift my friend.
ReplyDeleteOf course it would take his office one month to respond. Those kinds of communique have to go through so many people, lawyers, etc . . . Kim's brought global attention to our school before and now, and has implemented several reforms that have challenged old ways of thinking. I'm proud to have him represent Dartmouth as he moves on.
ReplyDeletePls Dr. Kim--Move on even if you are not elected. You are not worthy of Dartmouth.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a nice guy. Unfortunately Kim’s acceptance of the nomination to the World Bank reflects poorly on Dartmouth College and the sincerity of his past actions. About ten days ago, in response to public outrage from an article written by Andrew Lohse, Kim placed 27 SAE members on suspension and declared the hazing situation at Dartmouth of his utmost importance. Now, only several days later, he is potentially leaving the school to take on a ‘higher’ calling. On one hand it looks like he is abandoning ship due to the political heat of the hazing situation and/or he does not know how to administratively handle it. On the other hand, he is teaching the student that commitments are only important until you have something better to do even when you are in the mist of a crisis. Finally Kim has no financial experience making his acceptance of the nomination look like a cross of arrogance and childish thinking. We have a huge financial flood coming that will affect all Americans. All of us, especially our leaders, need to be focusing on their jobs and not putting their careers and ambitions ahead of their immediate responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteWonderful article.
ReplyDeleteKim - > World Bank => the average quality of both organizations is improved. A true win-win.
Our Board doesn't seem to get that they made a mistake with Kim. Hopefully you students can convince them of that.
Hint: it's not just about the swim dock and dining plans (as ridiculous as both of those decisions were), it's about saying you cut $100 million, when you only cut $3M. And about having most of the rest of it come from you all.
A Prof
As a Dartmouth parent when Kim came on board as President, I recall thinking his experience seemed better suited to running a medical school than a college. However, I figured Dartmouth must have felt their medical school needed some attention. Then when I read the New York Times article about his appointment to the World Bank, I was even more confused! I texted my son to ask what financial experience Kim had that I didn't remember from the press release several years ago. The response: "none." I guess Obama's rise to the Presidency and Kim's rise to the helm of Dartmouth teaches us that no experience is really necessary to ruin an institution or a country.
ReplyDeleteUpenn's better
ReplyDelete