John Horner
"Will Hanover College Be Here in 1985?"
(Speech to the Faculty of Hanover College)
1975
N.B.: The typescript version of this speech is available at
the Duggan
Library Archives, Hanover College (Hanover, Ind.). It
includes marginal additions and corrections as well as interleaved
passages for insertion. Those changes have been incorporated
into this text, minor typographical errors have been corrected, and
paragraph numbers have been added.
[Words of Welcome]
{1}"The future is more important than the past or
present," said Marcus Tullius Cicero. If this quotation can be given
any credence, it has particular relevance for liberal arts colleges in 1975.
{2}These brief comments today are not intended to be
messages of gloom or doom for liberal arts colleges but, hopefully, they
will be an indicator or guide for the future, particularly for Hanover
College. Any college or university president addressing a faculty in
September, 1975 had best be talking about the uncertain future and not about
the glorious past. The magnitude of the task for the next decade must
be our concern and to which we must dedicate our time and our energy.
{3}Perhaps these remarks might be regarded as
presidential lamentations but I would reinforce these words of caution with
a quotation from the report of the Carnegie Commission: The nation
faces the loss of at least 500 institutions by 1985. The
majority of these losses will be in the private sector. All
institutions must make necessary preparations so that they are not included
in the list of expiring colleges and universities.
{4}Perhaps one of the latest alarms to be sounded
concerning the enrollment and related problems in our colleges was stated in
the August, 1975, issue of Changing Times that "within five
years, one out of ten of the nation’s colleges and universities will face
merger or closing."
{5}Need I issue any additional words of warning as to
the survival of the liberal arts college to 1985? In addition, how do
these words of warning relate to the survival of Hanover College to
1985? Will Hanover College be here in 1985?
{6}I have given remarks at opening faculty meetings
at Hanover College for seventeen years. I personally believe that this
meeting, which will lead to my 18th commencement on May 30, 1976, is one of
the most important of my tenure at Hanover. I say this not to
precipitate a feeling of fear or apprehension but to lay the foundation for
a brief examination of what I think this college must do to negate the
prognostication of the Carnegie Commission and to insure its existence in
1985.
[Joke]
{7}1985, We in this room must correct and we
must do certain things. The first problem we have is one of recognition.
Recognition of what? Basically, the problem of each person in this room is
to recognize the current and accurate status of higher
education, the best he can, and to recognize the lack of support which
higher education actually has in our time. College professors and
administrators are generally living in the past in their thinking when
institutions of higher learning and their personnel occupied positions of
strong acceptance and of great respect. We, in higher education, have
failed to recognize the dramatic change in the attitude of the body
politic. We formerly were respected for providing leadership and
example for youth and enjoyed a lofty acceptance of position and role.
This acceptance, representative of a by-gone age, has now disappeared.
As one legislator in the Indiana General Assembly told me last winter:
"College professors and college administrators have gone from professional
riches to rags. The high respect which they once had has diminished
almost to ridicule. Their ideas and attitudes are no longer taken as
Biblical. If they are to regain lost ground, they must regain the
confidence of the people and only the people will determine whether this
confidence has been regained."
{8}Dr. Richard Gibb, the commissioner of higher
education in Indiana, stated on June 22, 1975, that the public has swung 180
degrees in its opinion of colleges and universities in the past 10
years. "The fair-haired child has become the whipping boy. Today
the taxpayers insist on accountability."
{9}Somehow in our ivory tower of higher education the
world has partially passed us by. I find that I am constantly
defending the valor and merit of colleges and universities as I talk to
people from all walks of life. Our problem, as professors and
administrators, is not to complain, not to become defensive, or not to
retaliate but to recognize the problems and to correct the problems which
create those attitudes.
{10}I would submit this morning that those
institutions which recognize their lot immediately and take
appropriate action to correct the negativism and distrust which exist will
be the institutions which will be on the scene in 1985. Hanover
College must recognize this condition and initiate immediate action to gain
that moral support which is the primary element for continued
existence in the world of higher education. Correlatively, we must
come to realize that our future does not depend totally upon ourselves but
upon other people.
{11}A second prescription for survival is for
the personnel of liberal arts colleges to abandon their penchant for dealing
with minutia and trivia. As one observer within higher
education has stated: "The historic pattern of operation for American
colleges has been to avoid the important and to be so engrossed with the
unimportant that inertia and inactivity characterize the style and way of
life in academe."
{12}More specifically, private higher education is
not faced with a dilemma. The choices for these institutions are not
so fortunate. Rather, survival is both the problem and the
option. The basic issue for the private college is not whether it will
exercise an option but more that it is willing to solve the immediate and
extremely serious problem of survival which is faces. The tragedy has
been that some institutions have had more desire to fight minute,
unimportant and insignificant internecine skirmishes than to face and
address the major issues which affect the ultimate welfare and the future of
the institution. As Jacques Barzun has observed: "The future of
private higher education, particularly for the liberal arts college, will be
decided not on the splitting of infinitives but on the desire and ability to
write a complete and coherent paragraph. In effect, the eyes, minds,
and energies of all should be on larger concerns and on the welfare of the
total institution. These large problems cannot be solved by small minds!"
{13}It seems to me that the admonition which is
presented to us is a strong and urgent warning that we should be concerned
with the immediate and the important and not with the remote and the
unimportant. What are some of the immediate and important concerns?
{14}First, we must examine the curriculum in terms of
the needs of contemporary students, the liberal arts tradition,
and the national economy. "Tinkering" with the curriculum has
always been a characteristic of those who work with the curriculum and who
coordinate the educational thrust of the institution. Institutions
have also constantly engaged in an "I’ll scratch your back and you scratch
mine" philosophy of curricular reform. Instead, we should be stripping
the curriculum of the unnecessary impedimenta and retaining and adding
those elements and facets which are imperative for solid liberal arts
education and for survival. If we do not make the necessary reforms on
a sane and orderly basis, the educational economics, which must be
operative in higher education in this day and age, will take over and will
make the decisions for us and it is very likely that we shall not be in
existence in 1985.
{15}Second, our attitude toward students and
more particularly our concern for an effective advisory or counseling system
must be present not simply for economic survival but also for fulfilling our
total mission as a small Christian college. A recent professional
report suggests that some faculties and administrations in 1975 are behaving
as they did in the middle 60s in suggesting that there should be a
completely non-directive approach toward students and a total absence of an
in loco parentis philosophy. If this report which concerns
itself with problems of students, reflects anything, it reflects
that the current generation of students which has emerged from the "silent
generation" of the 50s and "lost generation" of the 60s, requires more
direct assistance in counseling and considerably more in loco
parentis than any generation of students since World War II, if personal
problems (and in some cases, emotional problems) are valid
indicators of the need for assistance. Apparently, we have
failed to grasp this change in students which has led to an over-abundance
of drop-outs, a rash of student indecision, and rapid increase in student
insecurity amidst a veiled appearance of infallible security and of
sophisticated superiority.
{16}Third, from a very pragmatic
point-of-view, we must come to realize that we are indeed in a war
as far as student recruitment is concerned. This war is subtle but
it is sanguine. It is courteous but it is cut-throat. The
battle in which we are engaged is twofold -- philosophical and
practical. First, we must overcome stigmas and concerns about the
role and function of the liberal arts. Second, we are fighting for
students who are in a pool which is shrinking in size day-by-day. I
am not interested today in presenting an overwhelming array of statistics
but I do believe that it is best to base my comments on facts where
possible and not solely on opinion or emotion. For example:
∙ fewer students will
enroll in higher education over the next three decades than had been
expected, as many as 3.4 million fewer by year 2000.
∙ The Carnegie Commission
now states that 1.5 million fewer students will be enrolled in
1980 than it estimated in 1971. Rather than a 50% increase in
enrollment between 1970 and 1980, the Commission now projects a 32%
increase.
∙ The National Center for Educational Statistics has
also revised its estimates downward. It says 637,000 fewer students
are likely to have enrolled this fall than previously estimated, and
578,000 fewer are expected next of fall.
∙ In 1971, the Carnegie Commission stated that
13,015,000 students would be enrolled by 1980. Now, it projects and
enrollment of 11,446,000. For the year 2,000, it has dropped its
figure from 16,559,000 to 13,209,000.
{17}Need I reiterate that there is and will be the
"Battle for the shrinking pool of students"?
{18}Not only is the competition for college-age
youth coming from sister institutions but from many other sources,
including the United States Army. Observe, if you will, the sign on
highway #107 which reads, "start college with the Army this fall."
This suggestion becomes still another drain on the "shrinking pool of
students."
{19}More closely related to the state of Indiana
is the article contained in the August 18, 1975, issue of the
Indianapolis News, in which the reader is told that "business is
booming at Ivy Tech" which is a major competitor for the existent pool of
students. Vice-president L. Richard Gorman said that enrollments
have increased from 4,600 in 1970 to an estimated 14,000 in 1975.
{20}Ernest L. Boyer has made this pertinent
comment about the current status of higher education: "But now the
glory days are gone. Higher education now faces a painful
reappraisal. The bulging postwar budgets are behind us: The
baby boom has fizzled down to a capgun pop; college-going among high
school graduates has dropped from 50% to 43%; and all across the land
higher learning institutions are cutting costs, trimming staff, and, in
some instances, fighting for survival."
{21}Every person in this room has a responsibility
for assisting in the recruitment process and for aiding in counseling
students to remain at this college, and I mean those students who should
remain here. We must also study and revise our thinking about the
approach and procedures which we employ in admitting students, particularly
transfer students. In this statement, I am not talking about "watering
down" standards but suggest that we employ more flexibility and judgment in
these matters rather than an outdated approach of another era. If we
do not assume these responsibilities, we certainly will not be here in 1985.
{22}Fourth, Hanover College will not be here
in 1985 if it does not identify, articulate, and stress its strengths
effectively. Every institution has weaknesses (Hanover has
weaknesses!) which it must recognize and make every effort to correct
them. However, it must capitalize on its strength if it is to
survive. For example, the "Alma College Study" shows that Hanover’s
Library rates 5th in a survey which includes such institutions as
Albion, Beloit, Birmingham-Southern, Carleton, Carroll, Coe, Davidson,
Earlham, Kalamazoo, Lake Forrest, MacMurray, Wabash, Whitman, and
Alma. This strength should be stressed with students, prospective
students, and with other constituencies. We have a fine library!
(The 100,000th volume was added on December 15, 1969) 200,000 doubled the
size of the library holdings by spring term 1974.
{23} Likewise, the low student-faculty ratio is a
great strength. When student-faculty ratios are almost doubling in
many institutions of our type, we should be proud that our student-faculty
ratio is 14.7/1 (Winter Term, 1975). Although this dimension is not
the only indicator of quality, it is certainly one of the
indicators, and it is quality which will aid in the survival of this
college.
{24} Certainly, a parallel strength to low
student-faculty ratio is the high percentage of doctorates on the
faculty. When the doctorate average in the North Central Accrediting
Area is less than an estimated 40%, we believe that a strong suggestion of
strength and quality is the fact that Hanover has 77% with the
doctorate on its faculty.
{25} Similarly, survival relates to stability and
more particularly to economic stability. It is un-nerving to note by
way of example that Brown University, one of our fine "Ivy League"
institutions, is suffering from a $4,000,000.00 deficit which has led to the
recent resignation of its excellent president. Columbia University has
an accumulated indebtedness of $38,000,000.00. An outstanding
institution such as Beloit College had a deficit in 1974 of $403,000.00 and
$450,000.00 in 1975 with an accumulated borrowing debt from banks of
$2,400,00.00. Antioch College is carrying the burden of a debt in
excess of $500,000.00. In fact, the ancient and venerable Oxford
University in England has not escaped this problem because its deficit
totals more than $800,000.00.
{26} Hanover College has no current or capital
indebtedness. This is indeed a strength! If we are to be here in
1985, this condition and, I hope, tradition must continue. Whether we
like it or not, our future will depend on our ability to cultivate the
confidence of friends and their willingness to invest in the College.
We have said constantly that people will not invest one dime in the College
unless they believe in what the College is doing as an educational
institution, and what it is doing to provide sound and solid examples for
the youth of America. It is totally naive to envision the continuing
existence of a college in 1985 without fiscal solvency.
{27} The very sobering fact in the identification of
strengths is the realization that too many small liberal arts colleges
across this land are finding it difficult to identify any strength at
all. If, on the eve of 1985, the strengths which I have just mentioned
and others are not in evidence, we cannot expect to survive.
[strikeout: Not only must we continue our efforts to maintain quality at
every level as we look to the future but we must also seek to accomplish
additional aims which will enhance and improve that quality. Of
course, such tasks will be difficult in the current economic climate but,
nevertheless, we must extend ourselves in these directions. For
example, I would urge and support a follow-up application to Phi Beta
Kappa. It seems to me that if Hanover is to have an important stamp of
academic approval in the years ahead, it should have a chapter of this
fraternity on the campus prior to 1985.]
{28} To be sure, numerous tangible
circumstances will permit us to be in existence in 1985 but the intangibles
will be of great importance. I hesitate to refer to April 3, 1974,
because most of us wish to forget this date, but the indomitable spirit
demonstrated by all constituencies of the college during that
natural disaster is what will be needed if a different kind of adversity
strikes the college in the days ahead. I still recall vividly and with
pride the excellent cooperation and warm working relationship of students,
faculty, and administrative officers in overcoming the difficult odds
imposed upon us by Mother Nature when our very existence was
challenged. Likewise, the positive and definitive response of trustees
that the College would continue, as they sat I the living room of my home
wrapped in blankets and in borrowed coats and sweaters in a state of shock
and despair. The generous and often sacrificial giving by friends and
former students to our monetary needs as the campus was rejuvenated from a
condition of twisted copper, fallen trees, and broken glass was a source of
great encouragement and inspiration to us.
{29} I recount the above not to engender and relive a
fading memory but to indicate as strongly as I can that an unstinting dedication
and devotion to the cause of this college will be necessary for the
survival of the institution in 1985. These intangibles are not options
for us but imperatives.
{30} Of great importance is the need for institutions
to gear themselves for future developments. Colleges
must be organized to obtain maximal benefits from time, energy, and
people. Institutions must be resourceful as they now face problems and
situations hitherto unknown. New circumstances demand new approaches.
{31}Our conversion to a vice-presidential
pattern of administration last spring relates directly to the
opportunities, challenges, and problems which we believe we face prior to
1985. This change was not developed for ceremonial reasons. It
is our judgment that our new administrative structure will permit us to
address better these opportunities, challenges, and problems. I
would add that other structures and other changes will be effected in the
months ahead. Although I shall continue to practice an "open door"
policy in my office, [strikeout: as I always have] it should be understood
that initial contacts should be made with the appropriate vice-president
or administrative official on a given subject or problem. This
procedure should permit everyone involved to utilize time and energy more
effectively and more creatively.
{32}As I have read and re-read these remarks, I
became aware that they were not as positive as they should be for an
address to the faculty at the opening of an academic year.
However, I examined the options, as I discerned and interpreted them, and
felt that a direct and open commentary on the subject at hand would be
more desirable. Every institution of higher learning in the United
States is a potential subject for expiration by 1985. At this point
in time, some of the more prestigious colleges and universities are on the
brink and wavering. At an earlier date, it would never have been a
potential consideration that such institutions would possibly die.
The conditions in our day and age strongly suggest that such eventualities
are not only possible but, in some cases, probable.
{33}Any president of a college or university
speaking on the condition of higher education in 1975 must reflect a
negative condition if he is honest with his listeners. However, as I
speak about Hanover College, I am proud that I can speak more positively
than the observations which could be made about institutions in
general. I do not foresee in the immediate future some of the same
problems which are plaguing sister institutions. On almost every
count, I see strength or developing strength at Hanover College, and we
propose to protect that strength with vigilance and determination.
It is possible that some of the decisions which must be made in the future
to protect this strength will not always be met with enthusiasm and with
total acceptance but such decisions will nevertheless be made and they
will be made with sensitivity and concern for the welfare of the total
institution. Hanover College is indeed fortunate to be as
sound as it is. We hope and pray that all of us will be resolute in
protecting and preserving the soundness of the college. Without
projecting an unreal and fanciful impression, I look forward to the future
with confidence and I would answer affirmatively and with conviction
the question which I posed at the beginning of these remarks: Will
Hanover College be here in 1985?
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