WASHINGTON -
"I'm nominating Dr.
Jim Kim to be the next president of the World Bank," President Barack
Obama announced Friday.
That news rang out loudly
and clearly on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover.
"Excited, bewildered,
not quite sure where we go next, but it generated a lot of buzz and
excitement," said Bruce Sacerdote, an economics professor at Dartmouth.
Jim Yong Kim is the
current Dartmouth College president, a role he assumed less than three years
ago. But his colleagues say he's already made his mark.
"Probably the most
important thing is he worked with trustees and administrators to close the
budget gap, so we're on solid financial footing now," Sacerdote said.
Kim has a BA from Brown,
an MD from Harvard and a resume you'd have to set aside time to read, which
details his leadership experience fighting HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis with the
World Health Organization.
"I know he's very
passionate about global health and I've seen him work very hard for those
initiatives," said Arielle Cannon, a student at Dartmouth.
The World Bank Executive
Board will have to confirm Kim's nomination in a month. The U.S. contributes
the most capital, therefore it has the largest number of votes which only helps
Kim's chances.
"The leader of the
World Bank should have a deep understanding of both the role the development
plays in the world and the importance of creating conditions where assistance
is no longer needed," the president said.
Students say Kim will be
missed.
"I really appreciate
what he's done and he's a great figure head for the school, so it will
definitely be a major loss for Dartmouth," said Andrew Kenealy, a
Dartmouth student.
Kim's colleagues say he'll
be overseeing roughly 1,800 projects and 9,000 workers if he's chosen for the
job. He'd start in June.
In a letter to the campus community, Kim said the prospect of leaving Dartmouth is difficult, but he sees the World Bank as "one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty and providing assistance to developing countries ..."
Click here to see the full text of Kim's letter to the campus.
