Hutchinson Community College - Dragons Tale Yearbook (Hutchinson, KS)

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'-'Mm 'Q'-Ili Q l. Q 1 I Dr. and Mrs. Elland greet Vern Hoglund during a reception held in A future Student is greeted by Dr. Elland Dr. Ellands honor. Dr. Elland and Commander Sackett exchange pleasantries during the Armed Forces Day at the Kansas State Fair.

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Dr. A. H. Elland Retires Dr. A. H. Elland is retiring as President of Hutchinson Community Junior College after 16 years of service in that capacity. Dr. Elland was the first to serve as President of Hutchinson. Dr. Elland received his B.S. at Kansas Teachers College in 1932. He gained his M.S. degree at the University of Minnesota and received his ED. D. degree at the University of Northern Colorado in 1963. Dr. Elland served as Superintendent at Bucklin Public Schools, Kingsdown Public Schools, and Cullinson Public Schools. He was Principal at Garden City High School and Dean at Garden City Junior College before becoming President of HCJC in 1965. Upon retirement, the Ellands plan to remain in Hutch- inson. Dr. Elland plans to remain in his position of Execu- tive Secretary of the Kansas-Nebraska Consortium. In a recent interview with two members of the Dragon's Tale staff, Dr. Elland commented on the Junior College educational system. HOW HAS THE ROLE OF JUNIOR COLLEGES CHANGED SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN AT HUTCHIN- SON COMMUNITY COLLEGE? One has been, all the Junior Colleges in the state with the exception of two have gone to county units. Formerly, they were all attached to the Public School Districts. That leads into the second change which occurred in 1965 when the Junior Colleges got their own Board of Trustees and then started to develope their own cam- puses. Along with that we had the job of community education. When you become a community college, then you begin to pick up the courses that would prepare you right into the field of work. Teaching methods. have changed a great deal. The whole idea used to be one of elimination. Colleges devel- oped rigorous testing programs to weed out students. Now, we do everything we can to get a student to the point where he can succeed. We pride ourselves on the fact that if you go on to a four year school, you have no problem making it. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SPECIFIC CHANGES AT H UTCHINSON? The biggest change has been in numbers. Since I have been here, we have about tripled in population. The thing I would like to point out is the equipment that we give the student to work with. Everything we teach we have a qualified instructor and we have the necessary equipment to teach it. We have also expanded a great deal. We have gone through and renovated the shop. We've gone from one class in art to a whole Art Building. We 've gone from about four classes in science to a whole building. And the library has gone from two rooms in the basement to a new building. HOW HAVE THE STUDENTS CHANGED AT H UTCHINSON? We've gone from a period of turmoil during the war years, partly because it was an unpopular war. Then there was a lot of tension in the community between the races. Of course, there were a lot of students who were in school to avoid the draft. We had a few of that nature. This was sort of an uncertain, turbulant time. The students now are back again like they were before that time. They are students that have a goal and objec- tive in mind and are dedicated to it. This is how I see young people today. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS OF A JUNIOR COLLEGE EDUCA- TION? The strength lies in the fact that there are still, in spite of all our counseling, a lot of students who don't know what they want to do. So one of the big advantages of a Community College is to allow the student to sample and help them determine what they want to do. Cost is always a big factor. If you can stay at home or go to a low cost institution then you are able to secure enough money, borrow enough money to finish your last two years. Thirdly, we have here people who are especially trained to teach. And whois job it is to teach. They are not gra- duate students who are teaching a few hours for their fellowship while they are working on their degrees. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF HUTCHINSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE? We have very strong programs and are very well equipped. We have a reputation around the state and outside the state. We have a fine program both academi- cally and technically and we have a fine program in all kinds of activities, such as sports and so on. Now the weaknesses. We still need to do some building. We donot have an auditorium in which to house the band and music, they have no place to perform. That is desper- ately needed in this institution. We need more counseling service, but there is no way to provide it unless we can get more money, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WEAKNESSES OF ALL JUNIOR COLLEGES? We need a more stable financial base. Every year we don't know whether we are going to have the money to operate like we want to the next year, because we are still waiting on the legislature. So what we need is a stable financial base so that we can plan down the road what we can do each year. This is a weakness of the state system. WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR GREATEST ACCOM- PLISHMENTS? To watch a school expand and grow and at the same time maintain its quality of education has been my great- est sense of achievement.

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Student Union Provides Useful Services The Student Union serves as a good place to past the time or grab a quick snack between classes. The upstairs of the Union houses the cafeteria, the book store, and the Walnut Room for special meetings. Downstairs is a snack bar, recrea- tion equipment, and a T. V. lounge. Student Commission, Special Ser- vices, Student Aids, and Publica- tions have their offices downstairs. IQ i If ' Q M NV i it I .1 In-J c'.ftt Q, is ygfhq 4 5 , , .' Q4 a 1 , V? -Q ,- ai .cy it Outside the Student Union provides a place for students to gather and talk or girlwatch. Student Union Snack Bar provides a variety of foods and services for students between classes. aim 'bf -5 'w..., Gale Madison browses through the book store. 27