Newton Junior College - Yearbook (Newton, MA)

Page 10 text:

S i fl URSA MAJOR dministration Near the back of Ursa Major, we find the pole star. As a focal point of the Northern Hemisphere, this star seems to give the universe a unifying purpose. Similarly, our administration gives the college organization and significance.

Page 9 text:

. . our 1963 yearbook to Dean john H. Flynn. We do so in grateful recognition of the endless hours he has spent helping and encouraging us that we might one day achieve that which is noblest Within us. With this dedication, Dean Flynn, go our deepest appreciation and warmest affection. .ff 5

Page 11 text:

4f,,,..-' i l if Mr. Charles W. Dudley Director IN SEARCH OF PURPOSE It is almost axiomatic that purpose is a first deter- mined step toward progress and achievement. It is antecedent to the plans of life and its activities, with- out it, the affairs of men proceed often in aimless and confusing disarray. The alternatives to purpose are impulse, improvisation, and expediency, or simply inertia, all far less likely to lead to desired and agree- able ends. The efficacy of purpose and its indispensability to a well-ordered society and a productive life are gen- erally acknowledged. It is a cornerstone of individual and institutional existence, it is an essential ingredient in a wise and just political policy. Purpose, in a word or so, is the point at which constructive human effort begins and the guidance by which man's works in logic and design proceed. And yet it is a paradox of our times that purpose, so central in the scheme of living, is lightly regarded and often ignored. Examples are legion of people who live out their allotted time in purposeless frus- tration, of institutions that operate uncertainly in the dilemma of ambiguity, of social and political strategy which is contrived without the benefits of funda- mental plan. If there is a mandate on individuals and institutions alike it is to live our lives and conduct our affairs with purpose and commitment, to establish that pattern of goal and objective that gives meaning and direction to our personal and social behavior. It is most certainly an aim of education to inculcate those values and to provide that climate of investi- gation and appraisal which more effectively enable the individual to define purpose and to search out that which is most appropriate to his own life. And in particular it is a function of the junior college, in its most liberal dimension, to lend special emphasis to this purpose-seeking need, this search for personal mission and identity. The junior college almost by definition is an institution of higher education which, perhaps more than any other, is broadly tolerant of honest indecision, is understanding of the probing, groping exploration of purpose and direction. It is an institution which aggressively extends the oppor- tunity to make tentative choices and, if need be, to reject them and try again in the hope that the final choice will be the most congenial and appropriate. It is in the search for purpose that it is earnestly hoped that Newton junior College has best served you. And as you peruse the pages that follow and as you reflect on your experience here, may you at the same time seize the opportunity to ponder on your goals in life and give thought to the purpose that will shape your destiny.