Southwestern College - Moundbuilder Yearbook (Winfield, KS)

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. TOWARD ; THE YEAR 2000 An interview By Theo Otte Abraxas: Have the changes in Admissions, one being your new position as director, brought any new viewpoints or philosophies into the depart- ment? Haines: Admissions in higher education today is a very Challenging and exciting field. There are many colleges, all seeking the good student, making it a competitive field. The real excitement in our own admissions program is the new options that we are able to offer young people today, with the curriculum that is being envi- sioned and being put into effect on our campus. We're not able to talk to young people about protecting themselves 300 yards ahead. What we're trying to envision at our school is helping an individual be what he wants to be a when he wants to be it, In other words, we would like to be able to help the student in such a way that when he is through with Southwestern he can find the career vocation that he really wants, he has the tools to be effective in this chosen career, and he will have an opportunity to prac- tice in that field, Abraxas: With changes in the emphasis of the curriculum, what do you find to be the big selling points of Southwestern? Raines: We're interested in people and we're interested to the effect that these people can find themselves in an environment that isnot geared to ltl've got to get to the very topi' but to til can be myself and i can express myself without the pressure that seems to be enclosing me from society itself? Abraxas: Do you really find this as a conscious attitude among young people? Raines: i find it coming into our program from our desire to be concerned about life planning and career goals rather than just the broad phi- losophy that has been so cumbersome to the lib- eral arts program. Each student had to come in and then he was set in a particular mold rather than being allowed to develop in a line of his own choosing. He had to meet this requirement, that requirement e when it really didnt seem to affect or add to his ultimate objective. We feel that a student should be able to come and, it he has definite plans down the line, that we can ini- tiate those plans immediately. We can get him started in his line, at his pace, and in the direc- tion he wants; right now, not as a sophomore or junior. In other words, it that individual wants to get a good broad background that isn't neces- sarily professional, he can come to us, We can offer him the background of a liberal arts pro- gram and yet give him experiences in a vocation

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..Hv Gerald R. its '- In the first issue of Abraxas, the interview with President Ruthenberg made mention of Admis- sions a how it can be used as an effective tool to re-vamp the attitudes at Southwestern and enlarge upon present opportunities. All this talk about Admission made us here at Abraxas curi- ous about what is actually happening in the north end of Christy Hall. It really doesn't take much to find out. All you have to do is walk into the office and say, Hey, what's happening'W' and they'll tell you e ttthey being Donna Bean, Rick Johnson, Don Hapward, and the Director of Admissions, Gerald Raines. A conversation with them seems to follow the theme of 'Make A Wishf which is, for those of you unfamiliar with Sunday morning TV: Make a wish, Dream a dream . . . Anything you want to try Just reach out and fly high. In a 45-minute interview with Raines, the year 2000 was mentioned four times HCultural Center for Human Valuest' was the term used to describe a possible future Southwestern. A few years ago, speaking in terms of two years would have been considered long range. In the short while I was in the office, one pro- spective student was lost on campus tat South- western? That's what I thought; another one was given the t'royal treatment, three secretar- ies were kept busy, and people kept wandering in and out wanting to know what was making it in Admissions. In the meantime Raines was using phrases such as ttexciting things about Southwestern, ttthis is a revolution on our oampusf' and Huniimited possibilities, none of which has been heard on campus since Indians held a powwow where Christy is now. This man, who is at the center of Admissions, is quick to point out that the so-called t'ohanges are nothing but extensions of past programs and have been on administrative drawing boards for some time; theytve just acquired a new empha- SIS. This new emphasis could be seen in President Ruthenbergts interview and is carried on in the following interview with Gerald Raines. This inter- view gave me the impression of a man who thor- oughly enjoyed his work and wasn't afraid to let me know it. Most striking is his faith in the pro- grams now being carried out in admissions. This man really believes in Southwestern and if he typifies the rest of the administration, maybe their goals can be reached.

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We may have to send him off our campus, but we can still provide these programs for him so that he is career-oriented and in a career that will be relevant tour years from now, when he enters that career. We can say to him, ttWe can make it possible for you to have that job in forestry: it you want it, and be eligible for employment in that field, by looking far enough ahead to know what the demands will be in that field when he is ready to enter it. For example, it someone wants to get involved in airport management, we want to be able to tell him, and we can, that he can receive the neces- sary training and background by enrolling him at Southwestern, We may have to send him off our campus for a year, but we can bring him back and give him a degree that qualifies him for air- port management or flight training. The two schools in the country that offer courses in airport management are in Johnson county and way out in Liberal, but through co- operative education we can send students to these campuses after a year or two at South- western and then bring them back to finish up. Abraxas: ls Southwestern a leader in this area among, say, the colleges in the Great Plains area? Raines: Southwestern's record speaks for itself, but that record isnlt important now as what we are going to do tomorrow, the next year or after tive years. We want to feel that we are a leader in offering opportunities for young people down the line career-wise, not just by offering a piece of paper that enables them to enter gradu- ate school. They can terminate their studies, it they so desire, and be qualified for employment in an area of their choice. This is the exciting thing about Southwestern today. This is a revolution on our campus. lt's felt in the faculty They're enthused about the possi- bilities. This is whats exciting to talk about with young people. Abraxas: Right! Many people said, both stu- dents and taculty, that the feeling on-campus at the beginning of the year was markedly Changed. People were anxious to start school and see what was going to happen. Raines; This is an obvious change for a very positive good. There's no limit to where we can go it we put our necks on the line. We believe in this strongly; we can be a bigger help to the indie vidual in his life planning than we have been, and to do this we must broaden ourselves. We have to open up cooperative relationships, as can be seen this year in our involvement with St John's, Cowley County Juco, and other junior colleges around the state. Abraxas: Have the student recruiters and the young people now on the staff helped in this effort to show Southwestern's new image? Raines: The best salesmen for any college are the students on campus. If they're enthusiastic and feel that the program is worthwhile and they're growing in that program, theylre great salesmen. They can tell the true story. it is awfully easy for them to misinterpret some of the things that happen on campus. Forvexam- ple, maybe the Chow is bad. This can influence people and, without a broad outlook, they can misread little things like this. But still the student remains as your best salesman, because he's honest. i We've added to the staff two outstanding peo- ple who are examples of this program at South- western: Donna Bean and Rick Johnson, both recent SC graduates. Both of these young peo- ple are setting a new image and are representa- tive of our product at Southwestern The attitude on the part of the staff is to do more and to make more opportunities available than it is to change anything. Our interest is learning and not teach- ing. Let's have a learning process rather than a teaching process. This is the only way to go, to be relevant.