University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 21 text:

' the sum total ' The painful fact is that we are living in a most difficult time in our history — a time when this richest, most powerful and most fortunate nation on earth is undergoing what can properly be called a crisis of confidence Given the nature of our society, it was inevitable that the American colleges and universities would be caught up in the prevailing currents of uncertainty, confusion, and even violence My exhortation to you in the midst of all this sound and fury is to stand steady, to merit from those who are watching us and testing us the accolades of poise and pride. If this institution as a whole, or if any essential element in it starts to run scared, we may never recover. If we try to reset our sails at the buffeting of every noisy gust that sweeps across this campus; if we do not mean what we say about an honest commitment to the process of reason; if we dilute our academic standards and intellectual honesty with trivia in a puny plea for peace, then we shall abundantly deserve our demise. A great university is perhaps the most delicate and complex mechanism ever devised by man. It is more than those students currently enrolled, the present faculty, and the present administration. It is the sum total of its history, its alumni who once sat where you are sitting, its many friends in the community, the parents of students past, present, and to come, all those people who treasure scholarship — in short, all those who believe in the idea of a university A university can never be a static entity but must change and adapt as society itself must change and adapt. Our role is to orchestrate that change with harmony rather than dissonance. — President John R. Hubbard 17

Page 23 text:

' give, get or get off . ' U5C is a private institution. It has a character all of its own. It is not a state school. It is a private school and it has been built traditionally that way. And I ' d like to tell you what we feel are the criteria for members of our board of trustees: An individual— a man or a woman who has distinguished himself in his own profession or business and one who has wealth or access to wealth ... . Tom Nicols has three commandments for trustees — give, get or get off — I ' m not trying to imply that that is the total role of a trustee but it is kind of important. There are other criteria— a distinguished professional, a scientist, an artist— any person sufficiently known in his field to reflect expertise and credit on the University of Southern California. We are trying to improve our selection process all the time, but that ' s the basis for it. — Trustee Justin Dart 19