Gannon University - Lance Yearbook (Erie, PA)

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Gannon . If one thing could characterize Gannon Col- lege as an institution during 1978-79 it could be its ambitious and often controversial move towards becoming a university. When the stu- dent body left Gannon in May of '79, it didn't know whether it would return to a college or a university. A nine man evaluating team had reported to the State Department of Education that Gan- non should become a university. The team commended Gannon's balanced budget, en- rollment stability, and growth in endowment. It called the four or five blocks of facil- ities and the faculty impressive, and it said the faculty was ready and qualified to as- sume the responsibilities of university. In conclusion, the evaluating team said that the college had support for its university quest from the trustees, faculty, administration, stu- dent body and alumni. But, that support had been preceeded by concerned controversy about the need and motive for Gannon's move toward university. Although everyone left that Spring with antic- ipation that Gannon would achieve U-status. What characterized the year was the contro- versy and questioning about it. The first steps toward university status had been taken before everyone returned to school in September of '78. An ad-hoc committee had recommended that Gannon apply for U-status as a liberal arts university. The committee defined liberal arts university as one with many large undergraduate and masters level programs, but as one with a limited mission in doctoral programs and research. This was a new twist in the state's concep- tion of university. In '72, Gannon had applied for U-status but was turned down because, according to Gannon President Dr. Joseph Scottino, the state did not make universities out of colleges with Gannon's size and academ- ic structure. The state's new thinking had al- lowed a college similar to Gannon to become a university. Now, Gannon too, was attempting to change its name. The new Liberal Arts concept of university meant that if Gannon did 'go university' it would not become a Harvard or a Yale. It would not have a large research purpose. It would not increase its size. Scottino said, It would remain a medium sized, liberal art, Catholic community, char- arterized by its personal and friendly environ- ment. But that simplistic statement did not answer the many questions circulating about the change and what it would do to the atmos- phere of the college on the lake. 20

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Gannon College is only one fragment of your life. How- ever, it will yield memories that will most likely influence the rest of your life. You will look back on your college years and remember those parties, finals, basketball games, friends or professors and relive those days over and over. These are the images in your mind. They are the reflections of time. 19

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College Or University? At a series of faculty meetings with the ad- ministration, faculty and administration alike brought forth their fears and prospects about U-status. - initially the faculty resented the way the change had been presented and planned. The first discussions and recommendations for U-status had taken place during the sum- mer when most faculty were not around. A major change in their way of life had not in- cluded their input. - some said the changes that would come with U-status had not been evaluated. They said that the application was being made be- fore everyone was certain of its impact, just to meet the spring application deadline. - others worried that, despite assurances it wouldn't, Gannon would become too big and no longer appeal to the same type of stu- dents. - Structural changes frightened many peo- ple. The first structural change mentioned was that each division would become a col- lege. Liberal arts and health care sciences would also become colleges. Many worried about the affect of separateness on admis- sion and academic policy. - Others questioned what would happen to a liberal arts program if business, humanities and sciences had separate liberal arts cur- riculum. Through the controversy a new policy evolved. Gannon began to rethink university status — began to see that in structure and size, Gannon already was a university. If it changed its name to university it could do so rightfully. Application for university status was made on this premise. Gannon — as it was — deserved to be a university. It didn't need to change to rightfully bear the name and it equalled other institutions which already did. This premise did not exclude the potential for change for the college entrusted its long-range planning com- mittee with planning areas to improve Gannon. The element of planning gave everyone the sense that improvements or changes would be made in time, and with input. The premise that Gannon already was university material appar- ently was an accurate one, because when the nine-man evaluating team visited Gannon, their response was favorable — and they re- commended that Gannon College should be renamed Gannon University. Perhaps the class of '79 will be remembered as an historic one — the last to graduate from Gannon College. (At this writing date, the State Dept.of Edu- cation's decision had not been made.) Patti Malik Schultz 21