Elon University - Phi Psi Cli Yearbook (Elon, NC)

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President Young Talks About Elon Changes KARBOOK. How is Elon improv- ing its academic programs? PRES. YOl ' NG. First, we need to do a better job of insuring that we do not admit stud ents who cannot succeed. But I think that we are doing about as good a job as we can with our admission policies right now, given our ability to judge other human beings. We need to insure that we have a proper balance of ability among our students. We must have a rather sub- stantial number of talented students as role models for leadership. The sort of spark that a good student brings to classes is important to all students We will accomplish this by substantially in- creasing the scholarship program and the honors program that tries to serve talented students. We need to insure that we are not ad- mitting students who cannot succeed. Those who are marginally able to suc- ceed must be provided with the special help that they need through skills labs and tutorial programs. I would like to see the strengthening of our liberal arts programs. For exam- Visitation will be good for the college . . . but I don ' t see any changes in it. pie. we find that tests given to people who graduate show that most do very well in their professional field, though we find that they need to strengthen the area of general education and liberal arts. These areas need to be made stronger and more central to the mission of the institution. Whether or not students have a good liberal arts background may be more important to their own future in 10 or 15 years after graduation than the specific professional courses that they took. I also hope to see knowledge about our computer increase among faculty and students. I have never seen anything make as much of an impres- sion as the computer has made. We want to make it possible that every in- dividual can become minimally knowledgeable about computers. To- day that is just basic literacy. YE.ARBOOK. What are the goals of Elon College in the ' 80 ' s? How will they affect the community and the students ' ? PRF.S. YOUNG. 1 don ' t know that the present goals will change substan-

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Where do we go from here? McDonalds anywhere they will take me back to our youth . . . Tahiti let ' s just cruise.

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tially. We have already a worthy set of objectives, and I think they are broad enough and of sufficient depth to serve the future. The thing that I do see happening is that we will continue to improve our capacity to achieve these goals, making them more effective and in turn of more service to society. And to help the stu- dents, all of us who work for the college will strive for personal improvement. VEARBOOK. Elon is seen by some of its faculty and students as having a poor academic reputation. What is be- ing done to improve its reputation? PRES. VOUNG. I think it would be incorrect to say that the institution has a poor academic image, unless you restrict academic image to saying that the college serves only highly capable students or is only highly selective in the students it serves. But the major in- stitutional role is serving students from a wide range of abilities, and doing that very well. I don ' t know that the pre- sent goals will change substantially. I have no understanding of why faculty and students perceive them- selves in such an unfavorable light. YEARBOOK. Will there be any new construction on campus during the next 10 years? PRES. YOUNG. The long-range plan projects closing several of the small parking lots within the wall, but not all of them. There will be a concen- trated parking area in the expanded gym lot. There will also be a mall begin- ning at the front door of Alamance, a courtyard sort of thing with fountains and walkways, etc., so we will have a proper entrance to the college. This is the most dramatic change envisioned. Hopefully, within the year there will be a dorm or other type of residence facility that will enable us to reduce the over-crowding in the dormitories. That ' s our prime objective. 1 am op- timistic that this will be done by next fall or the following spring. It will probably be built between Harper Cen- ter and the gymnasium. That ' s the most important thing that we can do on this campus in terms of facilities to improve student life. Then our major thrust forward will be the construction of a fine arts center that will be built most likely on the present soccer field, with the soccer field going down behind the present baseball field. We have a lot of steps to do and it ' s an expensive under- taking. YEARBOOK. What is your opinion of fraternities. Do they serve a good