Jim Yong Kim Named Chief of World Bank
Today, the World Bank announced Dartmouth College's president Jim Yong Kim as its new chief. As an alumna of Dartmouth, I've followed his tenure at the College and recently heard him speak about his vision for the school in San Francisco. He is a formidable speaker, but even more importantly, he knows how to get things done. Which is why I tend to agree with the Wall Street Journal's synopsis of his appointment to the World Bank:
[Dartmouth] will lose an excellent leader and as for the former [the World Bank], well, Dr. Kim is better than an institution that ought to be wound down really deserves.
President Obama passed over the usual roster of Wall Street retreads and ex-politicians angling for a sinecure in favor of the medical doctor and Dartmouth president, and he's an inspired pick. In the late 1980s Dr. Kim and Paul Farmer cofounded the charity Partners in Health, which delivers advanced medical care in Haiti, sub-Saharan Africa and other impoverished regions. His innovations challenged the many pieties of the foreign aid industrial complex and resulted in genuine health advances in some of the planet's poorest, most desperate places.
Over Dr. Kim's three years at Dartmouth he has proved to be higher education's Paul Ryan. He decisively resolved the school's financial problems that he inherited on taking office—with real budget cuts, over the objections of the faculty. One post this White House would never tap him for is budget director.
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Mar '11
Re: Jim Yong Kim Named Chief of World Bank
I had a double-take there - thought you were referring to the N Korean leader ;-)
Nothing would surprise me anymore.
Sep '10
Re: Jim Yong Kim Named Chief of World Bank
A somewhat less adoring view was provided by the Economist. Here's a sample quote:
In an introduction to a 2000 book called “Dying for Growth”, he [Kim] wrote that “the quest for growth in GDP and corporate profits has in fact worsened the lives of millions of men and women”, quoted Noam Chomsky and praised Cuba for “prioritising social equity”. Were Mr Kim hoping to lead Occupy Wall Street, such views would be unremarkable... The Bank promotes growth because growth helps the poor. If Mr Kim disagrees, he should stick to medicine.
Kim may know how to get things done, but one wonders which things he'll seek to get done. Perhaps his choice by Mr. Obama is less surprising or inspired that it might seem at first blush.
Apr '11
Re: Jim Yong Kim Named Chief of World Bank
drlorentz:
Kim may know how to get things done, but one wonders which things he'll seek to get done. Perhaps his choice by Mr. Obama is less surprising or inspired that it might seem at first blush. · 0 minutes ago
I agree. I'd also like to object to the implication that Ambassador Zoellick isn't a brilliant, hard working, passionate crusader for a better world. He was an excellent United States Trade Representative, one of the best, and his work in Sudan was unbelievable. My Gnome Deathknight in WoW is named after him, and modeled on him. Free trade was one of the Bush accomplishments I was most proud of (in the sense I'd be proud of a team I supported's success), and he and Robert Portman (my Paladin) were responsible for a good portion of that.
edit: By the way, if you're thinking of noting that I've found a way of making a trade law enthusiasm even sadder, be aware that my wife got there before you.
Edited on April 16, 2012 at 11:42pm