Court Dismisses Alumni’s Lawsuit Over Changes in Dartmouth Board

A state court in New Hampshire has dismissed a lawsuit filed by several Dartmouth College alumni over 2007 changes in the size and composition of the college’s Board of Trustees. In a ruling dated January 8, the Grafton County Superior Court granted the college’s request for summary judgment and threw out the alumni’s lawsuit, asserting that they lacked standing to sue in the matter and were raising objections that had already been dismissed by the court in 2008. The lawsuit said the changes, which expanded the board, would dilute alumni participation. The board approved the changes after a series of increasingly costly and bitter elections for alumni trustees.