Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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A Report to the Class o f 1964 on Haverford Today and Tomorrow I greatly appreciate this opportunity given me by the editors of the RECORD to set forth my views on some aspects of the future of the College. As members of the graduating class you are familiar from your own personal experiences with the Haverford of the present. Many of you, as well as Haverfordians as a whole, are wondering what effect our plans for enlargement may have on the Haverford of the future. Before indicating some of the aims and trends of the Haverford of tomorrow let us look at some of the significant developments during the past four year period, which coincides with the undergraduate life of most of you. In the first place, just prior to your arrival as freshman in September 1960, the Board of Managers had made three basic decisions concern- ing the improvement of the College ' s facilities. These were the construction of a new, modern building to house the Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics Departments, the renovation of Sharpless Hall to accommodate the Biology and Psychology Departments and the building of a new dormitory for 130 students to relieve overcrowding and per- mit a modest expansion of the student body. Un- fortunately for your class, you have had the use of Stokes Hall for only your senior year, while Sharpless ' renovation and the construction of the dormitory have merely been inconveniences. Other physical changes which took place nearly three years ago and from which you have derived more satisfaction were the opening of the Henry S. Drinker Music Center and the Computing Center in Hilles Hall and the laying of a new, dry brick walk in front of Founders! Important personnel and educational changes also took place during the same four year period. To note some of these which you may have taken for granted, when Professor Craig Thompson was appointed new librarian, it was expected that he would spend most of his time on the Library rather than very limited periods, as had been the case previously. The Department of Biblical Litera- ture was changed to the Department of Religion, reflecting the broader new interest of the College in that important field. The hiatus in offerings in religious thought resulting from the imminent retirement of Professor Douglas Steere will be filled by an additional appointment in the Depart- ment of Religion, and the Philosophy Department now has three full-time philosophers. 1961, with the appointment of a third man in the Psychology Department, the College was able to offer courses in the three chief areas of social psychology, experimental psychology and in per- sonality. A full-time American historian was added to the History Department. These personnel changes, as well as others, have added breadth and strength to the College ' s offerings. Constant curricular changes have added strength to the educational program. Other significant changes, which ostensibly appear disconnected but are likely to have a lasting impact on the College, are the increasingly numer- ous and important foreign contacts of faculty and administration. Philip Bell ' s teaching at Makerere and Professor Hare ' s appointment at the Univer- sity of Ibadan, Nigeria, may result in arrangements whereby our students may study or teach at these universities. Dr. Archibald Macintosh ' s leading role in the African Scholarship Program of American Universities has resulted in our student body ' s being enriched by African students. The Three- College faculty seminar and undergraduate course on China and India have aroused interest in non- Western studies. The two most important developments in the past year, however, particularly in terms of the changes these will bring about, were the approval by the Board of Managers of the policy on Expan- sion of the College and on Aims and Objectives of the College. As members of the Class of 1964, you are fully aware that the question of increase in the size of the student body has been discussed during your entire college life. You are also aware of the fact that the Board agreed in January 1963 that the College should look toward an increase of approximately 50 °o to about 700 students in ten years. During your four years in College, the stu- dent body has remained relatively stable. In your freshman year, total undergraduate enrollment in the fall was 466. With the planned increase in enrollment next fall for a total of 500, it is natural to wonder what effect this and continued expan- sion will have on the future of the College. A fact often overlooked is that in the prelim- inary and prolonged discussions on the question of expansion, it became apparent to the faculty, the administration and the Board that planned growth of the College would result in a better College in the future. In the first place, numerical growth of the College would enable the smaller departments to increase the number of their facul- ty members. From the of view of the educa- tional standards of the College, much would be gained by having more than one or two members in a department. There would obviously be far less disruption in the teaching schedule when a professor is absent on sabbatic leave in a depart- 12

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love for art, literature, music and history is evi- denced by his extensive and profound knowledge of these domains, and the enthusiasm with which he evokes them. In the diversity of his talents, in his sensitive approach to art, and in his amusing philosophic SAVOIR VIVRE, Aldo Caselli is a Renaissance man PAR EXCELLENCE. It is rare that a non-professional interest in art will result in scholarly investigation, but this is the essence of Mr. Caselli appreciation. One corner of his living room is piled with books of the to be read and studied category: this pile is in a constant state of flux. The remarkable gamut of subjects and languages is an indication of the breadth of his studies. He is extremely competent in discerning the general from the particular. This talent is put to good use in his approach to the humanities, which spans the boundaries of lan- guage and form in an attempt to examine the similarities and differences of artistic creations i n their historical context. He has a list of publications that is extra- ordinary in size and scope for a business adminis- trator. During the years he lived in Egypt (1933- 38) he was deeply impressed by the wealth and delicateness of Islamic culture. He learned to read and speak Arabic, and furthered his previous knowledge of Islam, its history and its influence on European development. He has translated a book on the topic from Italian into English, and prior to 1938 wrote over 40 articles on Islam for Italian newspapers, magazines, and journals. Mr. Caselli is also a literary critic and writes articles for some of the leading American journals ; his latest review is in CRITIQUE (Fall, 1963), on S. Pacifici ' s GUIDE TO ITALIAN LITERATURE. He is a student of aesthetic theory and is espe- cially interested in Croce and Ruskin. His rela- tionship with Italian literature is intimate. Dante, of course, is one of his great favorites ; when dis- cussing a problem, he can immediately produce from memory an appropriate passage from THE DIVINE COMEDY. The warmth and understand- ing with which he reads poetry is indicative of his deep love for the beauty of his native language. His appreciation of the French language is almost as great. It is natural that he should admire Cha- teaubriand, who so well understood the magnetism of Italy. Mr. Caselli ' s familiarity with European art is no less thorough. It is astounding with what detail he can describe developments in painting and the connections between literary and artistic move- ments. But it is perhaps his knowledge of music and, in particular, of opera that is best known at Haverford. His courses concentrate on the bio- graphical details of the composers and librettists as well as on the operas themselves. In this way he dramatizes the important relationship between a society and the operas it produces. He has just completed a cross-reference dictionary of opera which will be published in Italy this year. His first-hand experience in the organization and operation of institutions of higher learning in both Italy and America has produced several informative studies. One appeared in 1960 under the auspices of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and the Catherwood Foundation, and another will be published by the University of Wisconsin Press. As for the future. Mr. Caselli is contemplating a study of Samuel Morse, who not only invented the Morse code and the electric telegraph, but was a painter as well. Mr. Caselli ' s philosophy of life nicely comple- ments his humanistic endeavors. His is a world of culture and refinements ; his interest in the human- ities is highly personal. Although not his career, they are his first love. He indulges in art, music, poetry and history for pleasure ; they have become an essential part of him. And he writes about his interests with the same passion with which he teaches or discusses them. He is not pedantic or pretentions, but original and unassuming. More- over, he enjoys arguing and is always ready to consider new ideas and new approaches to prob- lems. In commenting on life in the United States or, more particularly, at Haverford, his wit and pragmatic cynicism are strongly colored by his sincerely humane Latin spirit. He is a keen critic of Haverford, but he also loves it very much. Such a man is a wonderful asset in our community. It is unfortunate for us that our view of Aldo Caselli is so tainted with the narrow-minded criticisms often levelled against him. Jonathan P. Kabat 11

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ment of at least two members, than of only one. It also would stimulate faculty members intellect- ually if they had colleagues in their own field with whom they could talk. Diversity of approach within the same discipline, which is possible with more persons in a department, would also be to the students ' and the College ' s advantage. Further- more, growth of the College which would permit growth of the faculty would provide a greater breadth of educational program, particularly within new areas of knowledge. Many upper level classes with a minimum number of students would be improved by more students. In larger classes where more students would adversely affect the quality of teaching, new sections would be pro- vided. Furthermore, it seems clear that a larger student body does not necessarily mean the abandoment by the College of its objective of stressing the importance of the individual. In fact, I am convinced that the plan to develop two separate living areas as the College expands in size will result in greater emphasis on the individual. While being a member of a larger whole, each student will also be a member of a smaller, com- pact unit. The Board of Managers agreed that ex- pansion should take place by developing two such living areas and should not exceed the rate at which such accommodations could be built and plans developed for the absorption of the new students into the College as a whole. The Board further specified that expansion should not exceed the supply of mature and effec- tive students nor the rate at which an adequate number of able faculty could be obtained and the required facilities and operating expenses satis- factorily financed. If sufficient finances are not available to reach this goal in the period specified, expansion could be temporarily halted along the way. Assuming, therefore, that expansion will im- prove the quality of Haverford in the future, what are some of its other aims and objectives and prob- able trends ? Haverford College tomorrow, as today, will have as its basic aim helping its students to become men of high character, sound learning and deep integrity, motivated by a spirit of service and with courage in the right in accord- ance with the Inner Light that is in every man. It will offer an education that is liberal in the sense that it frees its participants from any pre- judice in which ignorance or too great specializa- tion may imprison them. As part of this liberaliz- ing education it will expect its students to be famil- iar with each of the three main branches of knowledge - the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences, and to become familiar with significant elements of some non-Western culture. I would expect the Haverford of tomorrow to adopt the thesis of the Committee on The Col- lege and World Affairs, on which I have been serving, that liberal learning must include study of the varying and constantly changing cultural conditions of men, especially in other cultures than our own, and that the similarities and con- trasts thus revealed will illuminate the nature of our own society and help us to understand better both ourselves and others. While the recent building program has em- phasized new facilities for the sciences, this does not mean that the College has adopted a policy of strengthening the sciences at the expense of the social sciences and the humanities. In fact, the appointment of a special Board Committee to consider ways and means of improving and en- larging the Library indicates a deep interest in the latter two branches of knowledge. In the Haverford of tomorrow I would antici- pate greater emphasis on special programs for individual students and more flexibility in the requirements for graduates. A student may have a greater number of possibilities of enriching his normal academic program through such things as an honors thesis program or interdepartmental honors. Other students may find it possible to graduate in less than eight semesters because of advanced placement credits, summer work or both. Likewise, I anticipate a liberalization of credit for off-campus experiences either at other institutions in this country or abroad or in such activities as the Peace Corps. I would also expect an increase in coordination and cooperation of academic and non-academic activities with Swarth- more and Bryn Mawr. Finally, as in the past, I am sure the curricular offerings in all of the departments will reflect the improved preparation of our undergraduates, the impact of new areas of knowledge and the constantly shifting emphasis within the various disciplines. For example, the addition of an elec- tron-microscopist to our Biology Department next year recognizes the significance of this new area of knowledge. The development of a new course in numerical methods for students in engineering and the sciences will take advantage of the com- puter laboratory and make extensive use of its equipment. In the final analysis, the motto on Haverford ' s seal is still the goal of Haverford of tomorrow: Not more learned but imbued with a better learning. Hugh Borton President Haverford College 13