Davidson College - Quips and Cranks Yearbook (Davidson, NC)

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citrriiiiliim iniproirnirntx As the college plant is currently approaching a point beyond which there can be no extensive im- provement, the forefront of Davidson ' s development will necessarily shift toward educational progress. A seemingly static curriculum in some respects has long been the number one academic problem. However, several advances towards modernizing courses were made during the course of the year. To cite a few, Bible US, a literary and historical introduction to the Bible, was offered to freshmen for the first lime. An economics seminar was insti- gated by students who received no academic credit for it. In the English department, the progressive Professor Goodykoontz experimented with several innovations in his seminar courses. Renovations in the mathematics and physics cur- ricula next year will pave the way toward further reform in other departments. For example, there will be a division of pre-medical and engineering physics courses , and analytical geometry and calculus will be combined into a one-semester course. As always, the pre-medical course remains strong, and the Honors courses are the liberal arts program at its best. It was fitting that Dr. Frontis Johnston, a qualified educator with progressive attitudes, was selected this year as the new Dean of the Faculty, as he, primarily, will be promoting the quality of instruction offered at Davidson. The well-equipped Developmental Reading Laboratory provides important aids to willing students. Mrs. H. T. Lilly, Director, here tests a student ' s eyes. F icully and students joined weekly to share information and opinions in an informal economics forum. Faculty men broke their i ge ideas and small talk while relaxing over coffee in hr Union snack bar. Occasionally, hesitant or bold undergraduates would join in — to their own pleasure and gain. HI Ed 1 . ll ,:M ■PL ¥ • «C-lr« -r - T « 1 m , p Regular meetings held in faculty homes found professors dis- cussing topics they had all studied individually beforehand. One man usally moderates the discussion.

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