University of Denver - Kynewisbok Yearbook (Denver, CO)

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COLLEGE EDUCATION A college degree does not guarantee a job. That was not the original intention of the medieval universities. It wasn't the reason that higher education was created as an institution in society. The university was created to enable people to live a more fulfilling life, to allow them to have an appreciation for the things that surround them, for their environment, to have an appreciation of the art and music and literature that was a part of their culture, to enable them to understand the ebb and flow of daily life in a reasonable and informed fashion, to enable them to contribute to the public good, and all of those purposes have been waylaid as we have debated over the past several years whether or not an education will guarantee a job. If a college education fulfills some of the functions that I have outlined, then to me it is a valuable and worthwhile experience. I sometimes wonder why a student comes to college. It is obvious that some don't have anything better to do. I don't say that to criticize those people. I think that there is a cultural press, certainly among the kind of students we get, that you must go to college. Of course there are other students who come to the University because they specifically know what they want to go into — accounting or speech pathology, for example — and the programs here attract them. I like to think that other students are here because they know that the chance to meet informed and gifted people exists here; the chance to explore a number of different courses of study and be a part of many growing academic programs interests them. THE FUTURE OF PRIVATE EDUCATION The number of students that attend private universities has gone down over the past several years. However, when you look at the trend setters in higher education, you typically must look to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Columbia — all private universities. I think that if private education can convince the people who are entering college of the advantages that we have to offer at private institutions that are not found in state universities, then I think we will continue to attract students to private institutions. We realize here at the University that finances are a problem and we have increased dramatically the financial aid opportunities here. Hopefully we can continue to do this. The number of students here that are on some kind of scholarship is higher than it has ever been. We have to support students in larger numbers. We have to continue to attract high quality students and interest them in private education. 25

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Steuen R. Antonoff, Executiue Director of Admissions and Student Affairs Dean Steven R. Antonoff has observed the operation of the University of Denver from a variety of vantage points. Since coming to the University in 1970, Antonoff has held six positions including University Man at Large, Dean of Student Life, and Dean of the Center for Prospective Students. Currently Antonoff is the Executive Director of Admissions and Student Affairs. In November the Kynewisbok spoke with Dean Antonoff on a number of subjects. SECONDARY SCHOOLS I think by and large the secondary schools in this country are providing adequate preparation for college work. Most of the students we get at the University are prepared for the work they encounter here. A great deal has been said and written in the last couple of years about the quality of the secondary school experience. Most of those articles have pointed the guilty finger at secondary education for the lack of literacy in society. It was easy to accuse the secondary schools of not teaching properly and not being good enough. I think that is a simplistic answer. Where the secondary schools have been guilty is in the area of offering too many courses. In the sixties when everyone was screaming relevancy, many schools bent with the pressure. Instead of offering ten good English courses in their curriculum, suddenly there were thirty, twenty of them mediocre. And the same can be said about other fields. I think the secondary schools need to make more demands of students. The schools must provide a more in-depth training in English, mathematics, and science. If students don't have a firm grasp of the basic skills by the time they get to college, then it is really too late. College is a springboard from the secondary experience, and if students have not had the kind of background I'm outlining, then I think they play catch-up during their college years. Then they go on to professional schools and never get back to some of the kind of learning they should have had earlier.

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STUDENT ATTITUDES The students entering the University of Denver are more academically oriented than in the past. That does not mean they are bookworms; it does not mean that they will want to spend all of their time in the library. It does mean that in terms of the extracurricular offerings we need to be looking at programs and activities which are more involved with academic programs. We need to develop clubs which are part of academic departments and part of colleges; we need to develop a series of speakers and cultural programs which have a more intellectual base. Every generation of students is different. They have different goals, different values, a different orientation. As administrators, I think we must be prepared to deal with the changing generations. When I came to the University of Denver I was met at the doorstep of my office by very hostile students — students who were angry. The nation was embroiled in a war that they did not appreciate; they were on campuses for reasons beyond receiving an education. They were frustrated; they were angry; they were concerned, certainly. Then we went through the period where there was general apathy. You had the feeling that students were just into themselves, and by and large they were. This was the heavy period for drug usage. Now students are very much interested in their academic work. At the same time they realize that they want to be happy while they are in college. They want to have some good experiences, and they are more prone to become involved in a homecoming celebration, or a dance, or any other such activity. Those are the kinds of trends that I have seen at this university. 26