Pareto Principle

80-20

The Pareto principle (or the 80-20 rule) states that often 80% of the results come from 20% of the participants (or words to that effect.) See HERE. The exact percentages can often vary but the upshot is often the same … disproportionality. Dartmouth seems to have fallen into this same paradigm insofar as class attendance is concerned. Joe Asch has pointed out this imbalance in the popular Dartblog to which he often contributes. See HERE. He has also frequently lamented in this same blog how Dartmouth students are experiencing increased difficulty getting into classes of their first preference.

Now if, according to Joe’s above blog entry, 33% of the student sign-ups are in 63% of the available classes, then 67% of the student sign-ups are in 37% of the available classes! No wonder that there is (to echo Joe’s complaint) so much denial of student-requested first-choice class sign-ups. This also suggests to me that there may be a large number of somewhat spurious classes at Dartmouth with just a sprinkling of students (Native-American Studies, Gender Studies, etc.?). But, it is also encouraging to me that the vast majority of Dartmouth students are apparently eager to attend those classes in which they might learn something useful in their coming careers (Economics, History, Physics, Government, Chemistry, etc.)

Perhaps we should also pay professors based upon the Pareto principle – 37% of the professors should get 67% of the available faculty salaries … dependent upon the number of students they attract to their courses. I'm just half kidding.

Walking Tall

My mother used to chide me, "You don't make yourself any taller by claiming someone else is short." Apparently, many opponents of Joseph Asch, in the current election for Dartmouth College's Board of Trustees, don't believe this platitude. The have been circulating many half-truths, innuendos, and even slimes besmirching Joe. I won't name these opponents but I'm sure most of you have received e-mails, letters, and even whispers to these effects. What I would like to do here briefly is tell you why I voted for Joe ... and ask you to do the same. If you have been a reader of Dartblog, you know that when Joe cuts himself, he bleeds green. (If you haven't, please link to http://www.dartblog.com/.) He clearly loves our college and has offered many suggestions in the hope of helping President Kim solve Dartmouth's current financial crisis, re-enfranchising Dartmouth alums, bolstering the academic and social experiences of our students, and recapturing what was once the glory of our sports teams. All, in my humble opinion, noble endeavors.

It would seem that this is what trustees are supposed to do and this is why Joe would be a valuable addition to this august body. But one thing most clearly distinguish him from his opponent ... he has committed to trying to restore parity to Dartmouth's Board of Trustees. "Parity" means that we alums would have the potential once again of having equal say in who represents us on this group. I can't see why this is a bad thing (like some who have been disparaging Joe of late.) I have never been able to follow the logic of those who decry an equal voice for us alums ... like we so recently had. To me, a self-perpetuating Trustee Board almost guarantees that we will dig more fiscal, pedagogical, and public-image holes at our college for our children's children. We might avoid this bleak outlook by taking this small first step and voting for Joe Asch '79 for Dartmouth's Board of Trustees. I have. And, if you do, I sincerely thank you.

George W. Potts '60

A Dartmouth Trustee to Trust

I know it's been a while since I have posted here ... and much has happened in Hanover in the interim ... some good, some bad. But now there are two openings for the college's Board of Trustees that need to be filled with thinking and probing champions of the institution we all love so much. My classmate, Mort Kondracke, is running and, although I sometimes find his cable-TV knee jerks a little too left-leaning, I do believe that he would be open-minded and a contributor to many of the tough decisions that will need to be made while Dartmouth digs itself out of its current fiscal hole.

There is another candidate for Dartmouth's Board of Trustees that I am more enthusiastic about -- Joseph Asch. Joe has been a major contributor to that very popular Dartmouth blog, Dartblog. There he has mainly posted important and quality analyses about many of Dartmouth's financial problems (warming to President Kim's serious treatment of same), championed Dartmouth's many sports teams, pointed out some irksome misallocation of our school's pedagogical assets, and shared his taste for quality food and drink. He has not yet addressed the degeneration of many Dartmouth traditions that have occurred over the last 20 or so years ... but I'm working on him for that. His background well demonstrates his financial analytic talents, his love for his Alma Mater, and his liberal (small "l") worldview. To verify that he is eminently qualified for this position, please visit Joe for Dartmouth where you might also reference, download, sign, and submit a Petition for his Trustee candidacy. I hope you'll find him as attractive a candidate as I do.

George W. Potts '60