Wabash College - Wabash Yearbook (Crawfordsville, IN)

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Q X . if R t w e Wabash BRIEFS Its Second UEHIUFY Twenty-tive years ago, the historians of VVa- bash ended their immortal book Wabash C01- lege, The First Hundred Yearsfby speaking of college life in the midst of a depression. economic and political, and of students a little soberer, a little more industrious than they had been for some time beforef? The early thirties were indeed sober and industrious days. In spite of the great advances since Woi'ltl Weir' ll, one is inclinded to think that just before and just after the centennial VVabash went through a period which will look more and more important as the years pass. ln 1932, Dr. Mackintosh died, and an era had ended. He and his five predecessors had been Presbyterian ministersg his three successors have come from secular life. Also in 1932, Lee lXIcCanliss be- came a member of the board of trusteesg under his chairmanship were to come the great devel- opments of the post-war years. But perhaps the most significant event of 1932 was the grad- uation of the first class to spend four years under the new curriculum adopted in 1928. The curriculum was the framework of the Wa- bash Plan developed by President Louis B. llopkins t inaugurated in 19265 and an illus- trious, hard-working committee of the faculty -James linsley Osborne, chairmang Lloyd Howell, Ularence Leavenworth, Ted Gronert, Fergus Urmes, and George Kendall. Witli a t'eyv modifications the plan is the basis for the philosophy and operation of Wabash today. The VVabash Plan did not sail through smoothly. Conceived in a period of boom when Page Twelve

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expansion and relaxation would l1ave bee11 niuch easier, a11d executed i11 a depression, the plan called for changes which dismayed niany illltl eve11 angered SOIHC. lt set up the divisio11al Sj'St6l11 Zllld the coinpreliensive exaininations. requiring a student to build a broad base i11 his first two yearsand to lJ6COl1l9 very inuch aware of subjects related to his niajor subject i11 his last two years. lts success depended upon a careful Zllltl selective admissions policy which seemed to reduce the st11de11t body i11 days al- ready lean, a11d especially 1117011 the close co- operation of all faculty lllCl11lJ61'S. who 11ow had to rise above flQpH1'll11QI1t3l expertness to co11- cepts of a unified a11d balanced Cll1'1'lCl1lllIl1 for all students. Most 1ll1COI11f01't2llJlC for SOIIIG genuine supporters of the college was President Hopkins' insistence that all college activities. especially athletics, be integrated with the plan. This meant de-emphasis. But if 'Wabash had not taken this sobering course in the thirties, the structure of the college could have bee11 niuch different today, and one wonders l1ow the difficult decisio11s of the depression years could have lJCCI1 made better. The extent of VVabash 's coininitinent to tl1is educational philosophy can be see11 i11 the following capsule history of o11e n1an: entered as a f1'QSllll12ll1- 1926, the year of Hopkins' inaugurationg grad- uated-1930, a devoted honor SlllCl6l1lL of Gronert, Usborne, illltl Kendallg 1'etu1'ned to Professor Iarncs Inslcy O.sl1o1'm' Wabash as instructor i11 history-1934, after three years as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxfordg be- came ,DGZIII--1939, beginniiig l111l11BCllHlCly to be called '-111-. Wahashvg lJQC'2l1l1Q President of the Vollege-11956, a succession so right that a coniposer of iinaginary history with no facts to hinder l1i111 could not have concocted anything better. Yet this, in outline. is the true history of Bryon Kiglitly Trippet, The 19-34 Board of IJlI'L'CfUl'.S-CII!!FICS P. Goodrich teas Clmi1'11mn '1 , . :-' 1: . 5 .vw ' i ' , Page Thirteen