Members of the Dartmouth College community expressed little surprise at President David T. McLaughlin's recent announcement that he will step down at the end of this year.

Faculty and students agreed that although McLaughlin meant only to do his best for the college, he did not understand how to coordinate effectively all members of the Dartmouth community.

"People on campus believe that there are some properties one would hope to find in a president in which McLaughlin was not strong," said biology professor Thomas B. Roos, an outspoken critic of McLaughlin. "It is a matter of research and scholarship on all levels."

"It's hard to know what a university is all about--it takes more than a passing interest. It takes direct experience and understanding which McLaughlin was lacking," Roos said in an interview Thursday.

No one has publicly speculated who will replace McLaughlin, but the board of trustees will convene later this week for the first of many meetings to determine the criteria for a new president and a search committee, said Norman E. McCullough, Jr., chairman of the board. McCullough remains optimistic for Dartmouth's future and appreciates McLaughlin's "sacrifice" in stepping down for the good of the college.

McLaughlin's relations with the faculty represented a large conflict in his administration. Roos said that "a number of people felt that there was a very serious problem which McLaughlin seemed not to understand. Most of the faculty would agree with his decision to resign without any negative implication towards him."

According to McCullough, McLaughlin upheld a close relationship with the trustees, especially because he served as chairman of the board before he took on the presidency.

"McLaughlin has put us in superb financial shape and has balanced the budget. He will use the rest of this year to continue to examine every phase of the curriculum in order to maintain Dartmouth's reputation of excellence," McCullough said.

Students were not surprised, but instead were relieved that "the turbulence of the past will come to an end so that we can move forward," said Dartmouth senior Jay R. Filderman.

Filderman said he "hopes that the next president of Dartmouth College will have a plan for the future that will continue to bring academic excellence and unite the community as a whole."

Todd J. Zwyicki, a staff member of the Daily Dartmouth, the campus newspaper, said that students sensed a change was inevitable in the college's administration. "Most people are pretty happy about it because it's been a rough situation with trouble from the faculty and alumni. He's a good guy, and he did his best for the college, but he had no support."