American University - Talon / Aucola Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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Kennedy Political Union Language Library Literature Maintenance MGC Music Miscellaneous Ninety-seven Oasatau Psychology Physics Parking Quad Record Co-op Rugby Security Selected Faculty , Service Fraternity Soccer Square Dancers Student Activities Student Confederation Student Union Board Student Health and Welfare Sailing Club Swimming Seniors Senior Brag Rag Track Theatre Tavern Tennis University Senate Vending Machines Vietnam Washington, DC. Wrestling WAMU Who ' s That Excellence Yearbook Zoo Zee End

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Administration An afternoon with the President President Williams leads a busy life. Concerned about and at- tached to the American Univer- sity, he spends his days meeting the men with money, hoping to coax donations for the Univer- sity. President Williams talked with the Talon one afternoon about his |ob and his goals. When I came to AU to be inter- viewed I knew nothing about the University. When Mrs. Williams and I drove in on one snowy December day in 1967, the first thing we saw was the dome of the McKinley Building. There is a kind of symbolism of the Univer- sity to that dome for me. When I came here it was a time of great unrest. I knew that uni- versities and colleges across the country were moving into a period of change; but I don ' t think any of us anticipated the amount and kind, and form that change would take. There is a kind of feeling of limitation and disappointment in seeing the kind of upheaval and division that change brings. Most people want change lor the other person but they want to keep their own goals or objectives as they always have been. We are now in a period of stabi- lization. I am asked; what about the homogeneity of the student body, and why is there a lack of community on campus? I ' m in- terested in these questions. I ' d like to see the student body drawn from a wider geographic area, as well as a wider diver- sification of people at different income levels. Due to the in- creasing expense of college edu- cation there is a tendency for students to come from a higher income bracket. People say everyone comes from New York or New jersey. I think if you asked a fair number of people where they have lived it would surprise you. I have a the- ory that although students may come from New York to college, they haven ' t lived in New York their entire lives. Many have lived all over the United States and sometimes Europe. There is such a mobility of students that some- times the argument that we need greater diversification is dubious. Someone mentioned to me that AU didn ' t even have a school song. There has never been any pressure or interest in a school song as such, which I think tells of the kind of innovative quality of the school. It doesn ' t have to rely on either a cheer or a song; it relies on some other things that one can ' t articulate all the time. I see my duties as the President including many things, but there are three which take up most of my time. The President of a Uni- versity has a very special relation- ship to the Board of Trustees. A lot of his time is spent carrying out the policy that has been es- tablished by the Trustees, wheth- er he ' s in agreement with that policy or not. There have been in the last couple of years times when the Board and I have dis- agreed over some matters. For example, I didn ' t approve of a mandatory student fee, although the Board did. When the College of Public Affairs was being formed, I had hoped to attract the College of Business, but the Trustees didn ' t agree. I spend a great deal of time on fund raising, and I like it. I like it not so much because it ' s a chal- lenge to get people to support the University, but because this is almost the crucible in which you interpret the University to people outside. When I talk to a presi- dent of a large corporation he can ask a lot of tough questions about our university. He ' s got a right to, because I ' m asking him to give some of the hard earned money of the corporation. Some- times I come away very pleased having discovered the impres- sions they held of the University even before I talked to them. They know a great deal more about this university than we sometimes think. My relationship with the alumni is also very important. Sometimes it ' s a source of frustration but it ' s changing. The reason they were frustrating in the early days was because they weren ' t expressing themselves. I ' m encouraged now when I go to alumni meetings. They are concerned with the Uni- versity in a way that they weren ' t several years ago. If I had a million dollars of my own that I could spend any way I wished for the University, and assuming the library was already built, I would be torn two ways. On the physical side, I would like to make that money work for a recreational facility. A facility where students could play bil- liards and cards, or bowl; where they can sit and play chess or do the many other kinds of things that people do to relax. I ' m in- cluding in that, a center for the health services. On the other side, I would want to put that money toward attract- ing some very outstanding teach- ers whom we otherwise could not afford to have. There are some very stimulating people who could be invited to spend three months on this campus, not for the purpose of doing research or writing books, nor would he or she be retained for one particular department. It would be some- one who would come and talk with us and think with us, not necessarily about his own dis- cipline, but because he is a per- son of thoughtfulness and has made successful contributions to making life better. I ' m thinking of someone who would be suffi- ciently general in outlook, per- haps someone like Andrew Wyeth or a fine theologian some- one of the general character of a Paul Tillich or Leonard Bernstein. I greatly admire people who con- duct symphony orchestras. It re- quires a high skill and it takes a commitment and devotion that they demonstrate. There seems to come through a sense of unsel- fishness. They seem to be doing it more for the enjoyment of other people than for personal satis fac- tion. I want to be a part of the Ameri- can University as long as the University derives some benefit from my being here. One couldn ' t be around an institution like this without beginning to feel deep emotional roots.