Bulletin, Lycoming College, January 1956

              LYCOMING BULLETIN
olume IX JANUARY 1956 Number 1
YCOMING — A Liberal Arts College
Lycumiiig College is coming: to maturity as a four-year Christian
)eral arts college at a time when America has a great need for good
)eral arts colleges. This happy combination is no coincidence. It
the result of careful planning by the administration which brought
e college through gradual stages of development from a preparatory
hool to a junior college and then to the senior college level.
The Liberal Arts college of today has a two-fold task. It must
aintain high standards for the broad cultural education necessary to
6 future leadership of the nation. It must also guide and prepare
e student specifically for service in a particular profession. Lycom-g
is steadily increasing its worth in the first of these two responsibil-es.
It is already well prepared to offer a wide range of opportuni-
;s in the second. Not only does the college offer the first level of
eparatioii for the standard professions of medicine, law, and the
inistry; it also has strong pro-ams
in art, music, teaching, bus-ess,
medical technology, nursing,
igineering and forestry. One
luld not ask more of a liberal
ts college since a proper balance
ust be maintained between the
oad cultural education necessary
our complex civilization and the
lecialized fields necessary to
aintaining its technical efficien-
From colonial days our nation
IS depended for its leadership on
,e liberal arts colleges. Working
om the foundation of the liberal
•ts prtigram the universities have
)ne on to establish graduate
hools necessary to the advance-ent
of our civilization. Then
chnical schools appeared to meet
lecific needs in engineering, busi-
»ss, music and other special fields.
hese did not consider themselves
•aduate schools. Thus they used
same period of the student's
fe th it had formerly been spent
the liberal arts college. As the
•aduates of the.se schools began
fall behind in the performance
t their duties in society, they gave up the leadership in their fields to
faduates of the liberal arts colleges who had learned their technical
jmpetence either in graduate schools or through direct training in the
lelds concerned. Observing the results of this situation, the special-ied
schools began to move back toward the liberal arts program and
pw there is almost a rush all over the nation to include the humani-
Bs, social sciences and the natural sciences of the liberal arts in the
chnical schools. Some of them have expanded their programs to
ve and even six years. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
cently published a 148 page study of this problem. They had dis-ivered
that their engineers were often considered mere technicians
id others
Now the liberal a)ls college wit
eat demand. .XiMcd to thi.« 4em£
crease of collane ciii-nllriu'iit dnc
creased dosiro on tlic iiail ul nui
Itioii. The lilieral an > culle^;!.; i ^^ recent demand for it.s services. H^w can it irdnut soTiTany iTTore
udents and still maintain its standards of excellence? If the stand-
•ds are not maintained the decline in .American leadership is the re-lit.
There is no greater responsibility faced by any group in the
ition today.
Lycoming is seeking to meet its share of this responsibility. Addit-ins
to the faculty, increased facilities in buildings and equipment and
le careful considei'ation of students for admi.ssion are three specific
lethods being used.
But the core of the matter is still to be stated. The liberal arts
illege in America has been a Christian institution. Harvard, Yale
nd I'linceton were established for the training of ministers. Today,
DEAN TAYLOR MILLER
Presidents Message
Dear Alumni:
The most significant thing to have happened
in recent years in educational circles was the announcement
m December by the Ford Foundation of a plan to distribute
$260,000,000 to 615 regionally accredited private liberal arts
colleges in America. Lycoming College is to be included
among the institutions which will benefit from this record
breaking grant to higher education in the amount of
$119,700.
This sum is to be held in endowment for a per-iod
of ten years during which time the income is to be used
to provide increases in the faculty salaries. After ten years
the restrictions will be removed and each college may then
determine the purpose to which the money may be applied.
To be sure this was the most remarkable
Christmas present any institution ever received. The a-mount
of money involved was so tremendous that each in-stitutional
grant had intrinsic value in itself. This was not
a token contribution.
In addition to this fact, what the Ford Foun-dation
has done in highlighting the needs of the colleges is
of value far beyond our current appraisal. Having had the
American College brought so dramatically to the head-lines,
others will come to the support of higher education.
This is just the beginning of what could become one of the
most remarkable periods of opportunity the colleges have
ever known.
Lycoming is grateful to the Ford Foundation
for having included the college in this grant. We shall
strive to continue to be worthy of the kind of support for
higher education of which the Ford Foundation grant is
prophetic.
Cordially,
D. Frederick V/ertz, President.
weifl pro%JBkg tl!^ead|^kip in ind n fMWati(
its basic pr
Jjy indu
'tl» rise in t
V ouiw people t
Ivhat emb
Ch)
these institutions are experiencing
a vigorous reconsideration of their
.\s thc^t-of
i ^ colonial lays
trependous n irch
:tian chj riles
the grc .test
made to our
zatiji. They ^tab-liberal
arts colleges across
the breadth of the land. Now the
churches enjoy an outstanding role
in American higher education and
almost all liberal arts colleges are
accepted as being based on Christ-ian
principles.
Lycoming stands in a great
tradition. It has a great respon-sibility.
Only great devotion and
courage can be adequate for this
hour. — Taylor E. Miller
ALUMNI ANNOUNCEMENTS
^pril 3, 1956 — Board Meeting
|tin.L; nt the Officers and
(cecilive Board of Lycoming
3lle4 AluiTDii .Xssociation is
Ihedfed for_7:J(i P.M., Tues-
(^pil 3| i| Rich Hall.
2, Isab tUtUMNl DAY
The followin.g classes will hold
reunions on Alumni Day:
1955 1941 1926 1911
1951 1936 1921 1906
1946 1931 1916
Plan now to attend your class
reunion. Visit the campus and
see old friends.
Nov. 10, 1956 — HOMECOMING
Football game with LOCK HA-VEN
ST.4TE TEACHERS COL-LEGE.
Mark your calendar now.