Wake Forest University - Howler Yearbook (Winston Salem, NC)

Page 14 text:

Sff ' Hi I I i M The University is in fact as personal as the student makes it. - z mstt .

Page 13 text:

Wake Forest built a tremendous heritage at the Old Campus and stimulated it by moving to Win- ston-Salem. Dr. Harold W. Trib- ble, President of the College from 1951 to 1967 guided the institu- tion through the difficult building process. The move, and the un- equaled improvement in academic quality which accompanied it were the contributions of his ad- ministration. In those seventeen years, the total assets of the Uni- versity grew from $10,299,000 to $90,400,000; the average total Scholastic Aptitude Test scores of entering freshmen climbed from 943 to 1139; and the per- centage of faculty members with the PhD. degree increased from 43 7c to 72%. A new President and a new spirit took over in 1967, and James Ralph S cales ' burden will be to make the College a vital modern University. Part of the spirit of the Uni- versity is the lingering Baptist control. The mere sound of the word control conjures images of a strict monastery existence. The first impression that many stu- dents get of the college, says Ed- win Wilson, Provost, is that it is a rather stern and uncompromis- ing place which means business and is more than just a little im- patient with students who are not qualified and not serious. If this impression is caused by Wake ' s Baptist ties, it is one which is quickly changing. The appeal for more autonomy is slowly yielding results, and the day when Wake Forest will be allowed to elect its own trustees is in the foreseeable future. Coinciding with the weakening Baptist control is the declining influence of the in loco parentis philosophy which for many years has been the determinant of the college ' s social regulations. The idea that the school should act in place of a parent in determining conduct rules is slowly being dis- credited through constant criti- cism by the ever-more-cosmopoli- tan faculty and student body. By 1966, the percentage of North Carolinians had decreased to 64%, and the percentage of Baptists had fallen below the half-way point.

Page 15 text:

There is, of course, a tendency by the University to retain its traditions, most of which deserve to be preserved. As Elmore puts it, Today, the principle of edu- cational community is central at Wake Forest. Students, for the most part, are required to live on campus, not simply to preserve order, but to assure the conti- guity of persons who can learn from each other. In an era of mass education when state universities feel pressured to continually ex- pand, Wake Forest is dedicated to the preservation and enlivement of a community of scholars rather than a conglomeration of stu- dents. Nevertheless, the University feels the need to liberalize aca- demically and socially. A very important part of the total edu- cation idea the university offers is, of course, social. The establish- ment of the Men ' s Residence Council and the College Union, the loosening of chaperone rules, automobile regulations and coeds ' hour restrictions, and the orderly ■a