EDITOR Thomas H. Young, Jr., ·53 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Roger H. Steck, '26 HONORARY EDITORS Dean Hoffman, '02 Gilbert Malcolm, ·15 ALUMNI PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Harry E. Hinebaueh, '34, Chairman Whitfield J. Bell, Jr., '35 WilJ.iam B. Harlan, '50 Carl High, '51 David McGahey, '60 M. Charles Seller, '55 Martha Young, '62 The Dickinson Alumnus is published bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, September and November. Entered as second class matter May 23, 1923, at the post office at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. THE DICKINSON ALUMNUS March 1964, Vol. 41, No. B Statement required by the Act of Octo• ber 23, 1962, Section 4369, Title 39, U. S. Code. Showing the ownership, Man• agement, and circulation of the Dick• inson College Alumnus published six times per year, at Carlisle, Pennsyl• vania. The names and addresses of the publisher, editor, and treasurer are: Publisher; The General Alumni Asso• ciation of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Editor: Thomas H. Young, Jr., Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Treasurer: George Shuman, Jr., Car• lisle, Pennsylvania. The average num• ber of copies of each issue of this pub• lication distributed through the mails to alumni and friends during the 12 months preceding the date shown above was 10,000. George Shuman, Jr., Treasurer. Commencement week-end-c-June 5, 6 and 7 Church 2 related-yes Church controlled-no Methodism's 6 church-related colleges Polls open 9 on April 20 Dickinson's 12 international. community PART TWO Books 16 Around 18 the campus EDITOR'S NOTES: Following the recommendation of the Alum• 21 ni Council and in keeping with the College Letters to the policy of having the alumni better informed about Dickinson, we are pleased to announce that beginning with this issue, THE DICKINSON editor ALUMNUS, will be published six times a year. Some readers may question that the un• changed masthead does not coincide with the announcement of the editor's resignation in the last issue. The former editor has been asked Alumni affairs 22 to continue in his role until a successor is found. Your comments continue to be wel• comed and will be of great assistance to the new editor as he or she formulates an editorial policy. Personal mention 24 The second installment in THE DICKINSON ALUMNUS' search for new meaning in the adjectives used to describe our College is concerned with church relationship. Dickinson's Church re• lationship is linked to her founding and has witnessed many changes over nearly two hundred years. For a discussion of this topic, two men who are deeply involved in both college and church offer their views. Church related yes Church controlled-no hy do we continue to believe that it is better to on our students in these areas, I feel sure we would W send our sons and daughters to a small, church· receive the gratitude of the students themselves, alum• related, liberal arts college? ni, parents, and even our national leaders. Nothing that I say should be construed as shedding Underlying and undergirding all of these spiritual dim light on non-sectarian colleges or publicly-con• routes is a fundamental tenet of all church-related col• trolled universities. Academic institutions can be dif• leges: the belief in a divinely-ordered universe. From ferent without being superior one to the other. this, in Judeo-Christian tradition, flows our faith in the possibility of the coming of the Kingdom on earth, The main raison d'etre of the small college of which and our duty and opportunity to use our God-given I speak is its well-defined philosophy, including reli• talents to help create a better world. William Penn gious values which we hope are transmitted to the said religion should not drive men out of the world, students. but make them want to stay in it and excite their en· A few years ago a Quaker political scientist pub• deavors to mend it. lished a book which shook the academic world. These are some of the reasons why I believe it is The author concluded that in most colleges students terribly important to try to keep our church-related emerge after four years with their beliefs and values colleges in existence, despite all the Cassandras who practically unchanged. predict their diminution. Many readers thought the hook showed that a college But it is not to say that church-related colleges are education made little or no impact on the student. In less obligated than non-sectarian institutions, private reality, the point was clearly made that a college can or public, to search for truth. Earl McGrath, former make a great deal of difference in the philosophy and United States Commissioner of Education, has put this scale of values treasured by its students, if the institu• best when he said: tion has a clear and unified philosophy of its own. This should be the goal of the small religiously-ori• "A church-related college can only remain a ented college: to have a well-defined philosophy and genuine institution of higher learning by not only to infect its students with the spiritual values inherent tolerating but by encouraging the unrestrained in this philosophy. pursuit of truth, a cultural presentation of con· These values are, of course, corollaries of the main flicting philosophies, and a steady growth among pursuit of college, which is the search for truth and the its students of independence of judgment in reli• dissemination of knowledge. They are, however, ter• gious as well as earthly matters." ribly important, just as the quality of life set before the child is a vital by-product of the way of life of church-related institution clearly does its best job parents. A when the parent religious body lets it have the I will not attempt to delineate the philosophy of a largest possible measure of autonomy in working out Methodist institution, hut I have often pointed out its own destiny. Significantly, most church-related that a Quaker college should be deeply interested in colleges call themselves "independent" colleges. It is the traditional values of the Society of Friends, such admittedly a fine line to draw but those colleges and as equality, simplicity, inner discipline, service to universities which have had the greatest amount of others and peace. If we could make a genuine impact free rein from their denominations have usually been March, 1964 3 lames M. Read, "29, has been president of Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio since 1960. Prior to his appointment he. had served as deputy United Nations high commissioner for refu• gees in Europe for 10 years. the ones attaining excellence. A mother church insist• controlling denomination, have taken the road of ing on tying its college too closely to its apron strings separation, usually gradual and evolutionary, and, is courting disaster. continuing on, have found for themselves eventually How much power should the parent religious body a position of complete independence. While many of assert over its college? The almost universal prefer• our leading private colleges today, and some of our ence for the term "church-related" is in itself signifi• semi-public institutions like Temple University, are in cant. No college worth its salt desires to· be church this category, I do not pretend to believe that it is the dominated or church controlled. ideal solution. Just what should the relationship be? Here we come One factor is all too easily overlooked when the role to the lines that are difficult to draw. I have already of the church-related institution is under considera• indicated that I do not believe the college should be tion. Support from a parent religious body can be a the mouthpiece ~r the spokesman of the church in any great boon to a liberal arts college, which is earnestly way. The church should be satisfied to give support to trying to do its job promoting the arts that train the the college and to be "related". Underlying spiritual minds of free men to serve in a free society. Overwean• values should be the main concern of the parent body, ing influence from big government or big business can which should refrain, on the other hand, from any he damaging to the free play of the truly liberal arts. semblance of dictating policy for the college. Academic freedom is often preserved in the church• related institution, as a part of the checks and balances There are many subtle ways in which the relation• existing within its framework. It is a precious safe• ship can be expressed between the parent religious guard which should not he lightly discarded. body and its educational institution: in the admissions policy of the school, in the financial support given On the other hand, I do not believe that it is healthy by the church, in the visitation power exercised by or sound for a college to remain under the strong hand church authorities. But fundamentally it is a question of the parent church. This means to me that the gov• of the makeup of the governing board of the institu• erning hoard of the institution should not be com• tion and its lines of authority with the parent religious posed entirely of persons belonging to the denomina• body. Here policy is determined and everything will tion. I have no quarrel with the church body having flow from that. the ultimate power of electing the board of managers but it should be possible to have at least 50o/o of the The satisfactory arrangement of these relationships board from outside the church constituency. is a blessing for which every institution which enjoys such an arrangement should be thankful.