Page 1 |
Previous | 1 of 16 | Next |
|
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
, , augustana today 29th and Summit, Sioux Falls, S.D. 57197 December, 1980 Volume 8, No. 3 ot Lazio alac/ltd « fo1.12.. • and I « namE ifiaff LE caf&d . . . LIE _ 1..ncE Of ~EacE May the real spirit of Christmas remain with us all throughout the New Year Vul Dr. William C. Nelsen, 17th president of Augustana, delivers a stirring inaugural address from the pulpit at First Lutheran Church. In the audience were students, alumni, faculty, Fellows, other friends and representatives from many other colleges, universities and delegates from societies and associations for the advancement of learning from across the country. "The Meaning of Quality/n the Christian Liberal Arts College (Following is the complete text of President Nelsen's Inaugural Address delivered at the convocation at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, 1980 at First Lutheran Church). By William C. Nelsen President Preus, Chairman Lerdal, Miss Ander-son, (representing Governor Janklow), Bishop Gilbertson, other platform guests, members of the Augustana community and constituency, delegates from other colleges and learned societies, representatives of churches, Mayor Knobe and good people of the Sioux Falls area, relatives and friends. Thank you for being here. You honor us by your presence. And I thank you not only for myself but also on behalf of all of us here at Augustana, for an inauguration is really not meant to focus on one individual but on an entire college community - and that community called Augustana is located not only here in residential Sioux Falls but extends outward to our alumni and friends and to those who own the college, namely, the congregations of the six-state Augustana Association region. And you come to help all of us celebrate - celebrate our past, our present, and to say a resounding "yes" to our future. That so many of you have come representing different kinds of colleges, agencies and com-munities, shows our interdependence. A college is part of a larger system of higher education, is part of a community, a region, a nation, an increasingly interdependent world, and in our case a part of the church. So thank you also for reminding us of our interdependence through your supportive presence. Augustana, as a church-related liberal arts college with strong professional programs, has a particular place in this interdependent world. And in order to give attention to the special role which I • believe we are called to undertake, I would like to address you this morning on the topic, "The Meaning of Quality in the Christian Liberal Arts College." As we begin the decade of the 1980's we hear many voices raising concerns for the future of American higher education. Demographers tell us that difficult enrollment problems will be created for colleges because 23 % fewer students will be graduating from high school. Economists warn of ongoing inflation which will force continuing in-creases in college costs. Governmental planners forsee energy shortages and consequent energy cost inflation. Educational Quality Is Concern But chief among these concerns has been an issue raised by • higher educational leaders themselves, and the general public, namely, the concern for quality. Will colleges make an effort to maintain and improve educational quality during the difficult years ahead? Or should we say-regain quality in the years ahead, for some would argue that during the 1970's higher education as a whole lost in quality. Howard Bowen, noted author and educator, for example, in recent articles • and speeches has contended that, without our recognizing it, "the quality of American higher education has been slipping." He is concerned that during the *rapid growth of the 60's and 70's "in-stitutions became too large, impersonal, and bureaucratic," and that we established "methods of operation suited to treating people as masses rather than as persons." He argues further that many institutions, even smaller ones, are "fragmented into narrow specialities and are neglecting liberal education; standards are being weakened," and that "many institutions lack the ability to respond flexibly to changing conditions and changing societal needs." Bowen concludes with this worrisome outlook on the future: "I wonder if there will be enough colleges and universities that stand for liberal learning, scholarship, and broad development of students to avoid a near collapse of the traditional values of humane learning and to prevent the conversion of higher education into a vast smorgasbord where the cook provides whatever an undiscriminating clientele will buy." I also believe that the real issue for higher education in the 1980's will not be students, or in-flation, or energy but quality. For I fear that too many colleges will too quickly move away from their basic missions and sacrifice quality in order to scramble for a few extra students and a few extra dollars. Thus, I do not hesitate in saying that this college - Augustana College - will have as its major goal in the 1980's - quality education. But having proclaimed such a goal, we must hasten to ask. What does that mean? What is a quality education? Quality means different things to different people and quality has different meanings for different - kinds of educational in-stitutions. The measures of quality are not the same for a community college and a prestigious, private university, but that is not to suggest that each cannot in its own way offer a valuable education for its students. Likewise a Christian liberal arts college must be judged as to its quality by a particular set of criteria befitting its special mission. To be sure, some criteria will be shared with other colleges, especially other liberal arts colleges - a well-trained faculty devoted to both teaching and scholarship, standards high enough to raise con-tinually the sights of students, graduates who do well in their chosen walks of life. But for the Christian college these understandings of quality are simply not enough. And in the past many church colleges have gone astray because they measured themselves against these criteria - and nothing more. The result was a blurring of their church-relatedness, and a weakening of the entire higher education system in America which has prided itself in its diversity. (Continued on page 2) .
Object Description
Title | Augustana Today - 1980 December |
Subject (LC) | Augustana College (Sioux Falls, S.D.)--Periodicals |
Date | 1980-12 |
Coverage | v. 8, no. 3 |
Publishing Agency | Augustana College |
Rights | This image may not be reproduced without the express written consent of Augustana University, Sioux Fals, South Dakota, USA. |
Type | Magazine |
Medium | text |
Format-Digital | |
Language | English |
Collection | Augustana Alumni Publications |
Contributing Institution | Mikkelsen Library, Augustana University |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Date | 1980-12 |
Text | , , augustana today 29th and Summit, Sioux Falls, S.D. 57197 December, 1980 Volume 8, No. 3 ot Lazio alac/ltd « fo1.12.. • and I « namE ifiaff LE caf&d . . . LIE _ 1..ncE Of ~EacE May the real spirit of Christmas remain with us all throughout the New Year Vul Dr. William C. Nelsen, 17th president of Augustana, delivers a stirring inaugural address from the pulpit at First Lutheran Church. In the audience were students, alumni, faculty, Fellows, other friends and representatives from many other colleges, universities and delegates from societies and associations for the advancement of learning from across the country. "The Meaning of Quality/n the Christian Liberal Arts College (Following is the complete text of President Nelsen's Inaugural Address delivered at the convocation at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, 1980 at First Lutheran Church). By William C. Nelsen President Preus, Chairman Lerdal, Miss Ander-son, (representing Governor Janklow), Bishop Gilbertson, other platform guests, members of the Augustana community and constituency, delegates from other colleges and learned societies, representatives of churches, Mayor Knobe and good people of the Sioux Falls area, relatives and friends. Thank you for being here. You honor us by your presence. And I thank you not only for myself but also on behalf of all of us here at Augustana, for an inauguration is really not meant to focus on one individual but on an entire college community - and that community called Augustana is located not only here in residential Sioux Falls but extends outward to our alumni and friends and to those who own the college, namely, the congregations of the six-state Augustana Association region. And you come to help all of us celebrate - celebrate our past, our present, and to say a resounding "yes" to our future. That so many of you have come representing different kinds of colleges, agencies and com-munities, shows our interdependence. A college is part of a larger system of higher education, is part of a community, a region, a nation, an increasingly interdependent world, and in our case a part of the church. So thank you also for reminding us of our interdependence through your supportive presence. Augustana, as a church-related liberal arts college with strong professional programs, has a particular place in this interdependent world. And in order to give attention to the special role which I • believe we are called to undertake, I would like to address you this morning on the topic, "The Meaning of Quality in the Christian Liberal Arts College." As we begin the decade of the 1980's we hear many voices raising concerns for the future of American higher education. Demographers tell us that difficult enrollment problems will be created for colleges because 23 % fewer students will be graduating from high school. Economists warn of ongoing inflation which will force continuing in-creases in college costs. Governmental planners forsee energy shortages and consequent energy cost inflation. Educational Quality Is Concern But chief among these concerns has been an issue raised by • higher educational leaders themselves, and the general public, namely, the concern for quality. Will colleges make an effort to maintain and improve educational quality during the difficult years ahead? Or should we say-regain quality in the years ahead, for some would argue that during the 1970's higher education as a whole lost in quality. Howard Bowen, noted author and educator, for example, in recent articles • and speeches has contended that, without our recognizing it, "the quality of American higher education has been slipping." He is concerned that during the *rapid growth of the 60's and 70's "in-stitutions became too large, impersonal, and bureaucratic," and that we established "methods of operation suited to treating people as masses rather than as persons." He argues further that many institutions, even smaller ones, are "fragmented into narrow specialities and are neglecting liberal education; standards are being weakened," and that "many institutions lack the ability to respond flexibly to changing conditions and changing societal needs." Bowen concludes with this worrisome outlook on the future: "I wonder if there will be enough colleges and universities that stand for liberal learning, scholarship, and broad development of students to avoid a near collapse of the traditional values of humane learning and to prevent the conversion of higher education into a vast smorgasbord where the cook provides whatever an undiscriminating clientele will buy." I also believe that the real issue for higher education in the 1980's will not be students, or in-flation, or energy but quality. For I fear that too many colleges will too quickly move away from their basic missions and sacrifice quality in order to scramble for a few extra students and a few extra dollars. Thus, I do not hesitate in saying that this college - Augustana College - will have as its major goal in the 1980's - quality education. But having proclaimed such a goal, we must hasten to ask. What does that mean? What is a quality education? Quality means different things to different people and quality has different meanings for different - kinds of educational in-stitutions. The measures of quality are not the same for a community college and a prestigious, private university, but that is not to suggest that each cannot in its own way offer a valuable education for its students. Likewise a Christian liberal arts college must be judged as to its quality by a particular set of criteria befitting its special mission. To be sure, some criteria will be shared with other colleges, especially other liberal arts colleges - a well-trained faculty devoted to both teaching and scholarship, standards high enough to raise con-tinually the sights of students, graduates who do well in their chosen walks of life. But for the Christian college these understandings of quality are simply not enough. And in the past many church colleges have gone astray because they measured themselves against these criteria - and nothing more. The result was a blurring of their church-relatedness, and a weakening of the entire higher education system in America which has prided itself in its diversity. (Continued on page 2) . |
Contributing Institution | Mikkelsen Library, Augustana University |