The new Goshen College (IN) Music Center, a $24 million facility of 68,000 square feet with acoustics that rank among the finest in the midwest, was dedicated in October 2002.

Announcing New Programs
Students interested in studying the rich natural and cultural history of the Adirondack Mountains will now have that opportunity through Houghton College’s (NY) new semester-long Adirondack Park program. Twenty-five students and a team of faculty members will spend next fall at Houghton’s 40 acre Star Lake Campus and study the Adirondacks through an integrated curriculum that includes art, biology, literature, philosophy, and political science, as well as recreation. The program, which is open to students from other colleges and universities, will also involve community service projects with the residents of Star Lake.
    Saint Leo University (FL) is offering a new Liberal Arts in Management Program (LAMP) that will expose students earning traditional liberal arts degrees to the contemporary world of business. By participating in LAMP, Saint Leo students will train for managerial and supervisory positions while still exploring literature, the sciences, and the humanities. Milligan College (TN) is also increasing efforts to prepare students for today’s business world, with a new MBA program that emphasizes a commitment to Christian values and ethical conduct. And Tri-State University (IN) is now offering its first master’s level courses—CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) and Parametric Modeling—to help prepare students for jobs in government and industry. Students may also apply these classes toward a Master of Science in Engineering Technology.
    Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL) is opening a new School of Communications & Media next fall. The additional school, which is the university’s eighth, will offer 19 majors in areas such as journalism, broadcast management, and international and global information. In January, Rollins College (FL) opened the Arts at Rollins College (ARC) program that will integrate program management and marketing with various fine and performing arts. The program also intends to reach out to the community with a summer theater, music, and art camp for children, and plans to collaborate with local fine arts organizations.
    A number of foundations have provided generous funds for CIC member institutions to launch new programs. The Coca-Cola Foundation has given $100,000 in education-related program grants each to College Misericordia (PA) to help minority high school students interested in pursuing a degree in elementary or secondary education obtain that degree at a minimal cost; and to Whitworth College (WA) in support of its new Future Teachers of Color program, which seeks to retain and graduate teachers from minority backgrounds. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded $500,000 to Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL) to help support the university’s school of continuing education. College of Notre Dame of Maryland (MD) received $211,000 from The Henry Luce Foundation to encourage women to pursue careers in research and teaching in science and engineering. The money is given in the form of scholarships (full tuition, room, and board) to College of Notre Dame students demonstrating potential for professional achievement in the sciences.
    In response to a local shortage of bilingual education teachers, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Nazareth College (NY) a five-year, $1.2 million grant that will go toward the creation of an English Language Learners community consortium.

At St. John's College (NM), freshmen studying Euclid's Elements were assigned a project to create a visual representation of inter-propositional connections. Shown here is Nichole Miller's three-dimensional representation of the relationships between Euclid’s mathematical propositions.

Cooperating with Communities
Washington & Jefferson College (PA) has set an example of a college contributing to its community. The College’s recent cooperative plan, “Blueprint for Collaboration,” outlines ways in which campuses stimulate the local community. For example, a college can generate revenue for the city by moving its bookstore to the downtown area and helping to make the downtown a destination for students. The idea for the project grew out of a spring 2000 meeting of the Knight Collaborative, a national initiative designed to help colleges and universities become strategic partners with their communities. Another Pennsylvania school, Robert Morris University, will also work with the community, the city of Duquesne, which has high unemployment rates and a school district with the highest aid ratios in Pennsylvania. The University received a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the project, which includes tutoring youth, providing technical assistance to community-based organizations, and organizing a comprehensive directory of community resources.
    A number of other CIC members have stepped up efforts to create positive social change in their communities. Sterling College (KS) and Feed The Children of Oklahoma City (OK) recently partnered to encourage students to become Feed The Children Fellows as part of a social entrepreneurship program. The program will provide fellows (selected out of high school) with $20,000 scholarships and a variety of internships. The fellows will then serve Feed The Children worldwide upon graduation. Georgian Court College (NJ) has published a comprehensive report to assist educators, advocates, and social service professionals in programs to benefit the Hispanic population of Lakewood. And Silver Lake College (WI) has teamed up with several local community service organizations in
support of a neighborhood network learning center that will benefit property owners and youth living in the community. Residents will have access to technology, job skill training, onsite community service programs, tutoring, microenterprise information, and a variety of other services.
    Elsewhere, Dickinson College (PA) has joined the University of Pennsylvania and Cheyney University in an effort to reduce racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities. Dickinson and Cheyney faculty members are interviewing neighborhood residents to evaluate barriers to blood pressure control in low-income and African-American populations, while researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are conducting clinical trials. The four-year project, funded by a $4.8 million grant from the Pennsylvania state government, serves as the cornerstone of Dickinson’s American Mosaics and Crossing Border programs, both of which seek to promote greater understanding of cross-cultural differences.
    In Vermont, Saint Michael’s College has teamed with LakeNet, a nonprofit organization seeking to protect the world’s lakes. This new effort in lake management will focus on eight lakes worldwide that have been identified as critical to the preservation of global biodiversity.
    Students at CIC member institutions have also been active in serving their communities. Students at Saint Joseph’s University (PA) earned $30,000 in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis (TN) by staying “Up ‘Til Dawn” one night last fall. The student-led fundraising event collected the second largest donation for the program in the country. And Bluffton College (OH) students collaborated with the Churches United Pantry to establish ongoing volunteer services and support. A group of Bluffton students and staff members painted rooms and tiled ceilings at the Salvation Army/Boys and Girls Club last fall, and a Bluffton history professor now encourages his students to engage in local community service for class credit.

Establishing New Partnerships
Case Western Reserve University (OH) is partnering with CIC member Fisk University (TN), a historically black college located in Nashville, to offer joint research and dual-degree programs. Students and faculty members from both institutions are already taking advantage of the collaboration and signing up for coursework and programs. Another CIC member, Hartwick College (NY), has established a relationship with Oxford University in England. The agreement allows select Hartwick students to spend a year studying at Oxford, while Hartwick faculty members will have a chance for sabbatical study and lecturing there. Hartwick joins Harvard University and Middlebury College as the only three American institutions to hold such an agreement at this time with Oxford.

Noted poet and author Maya Angelou kept a capacity crowd of 2,600 people at McKendree College (IL) hanging on to her every word as she brought the message that everyone can bring change starting “exactly where they are.” Angelou was the keynote speaker for the Founders’ Day celebration as the college, the oldest in Illinois, celebrated its 175th anniversary. Her appearance was also part of the Distinguished Speakers Series.

    Notre Dame College (OH) is partnering with Lakeland Community College to create a new multimedia degree and certificate for students. The program will bring Lakeland students into communications and graphic design programs at Notre Dame College, while Notre Dame students will have the opportunity to complete a media technology certificate at Lakeland as a component of the four-year degree.
    Georgian Court College (NJ) has teamed with Seton Hall University (NJ) and four area health care systems to offer an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The collaboration was created in response to the growing shortage of nurses in New Jersey. Georgian Court will host the 64-credit, 13-month program, which is offered as a second baccalaureate degree to students who have already completed their bachelor’s degree.

Creating New Identities
Two private Roman Catholic colleges, Benedictine University (IL) and Springfield College (IL), announced they will merge this year upon approval from their accrediting bodies. The long-term plan is for Springfield, a two-year liberal arts institution approximately 200 miles from Benedictine, to maintain its name and identity but offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees now available at Benedictine. Benedictine will continue to serve undergraduate and graduate students on its campus. Also, Holy Family College (PA) has attained university status and is now Holy Family University.

Opening New Facilities
The largest indoor tennis center in the Southwest U.S. opened at the College of Santa Fe (NM) in November. The new Rosemarie Shellaberger Tennis Center will house six championship courts under balcony spectator galleries in a 70,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility. In the Northeast, Saint Anselm College (NH) is about to open a $7.9 million ice arena, which features 1,700 seats for ice hockey and 2,700 seats for non-ice events. In anticipation of the new facility, the college has introduced women’s ice hockey as a new varsity sport.

Receiving Recognition
Dickinson College (PA), Eastern Mennonite University (VA), and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (VA) are among 16 colleges nationwide that have been selected by NAFSA: Association of International Educators to be honored for exemplary work in “internationalizing the campus.” Randolph-Macon Woman’s College has recently increased its endowment funds to provide all students with opportunities to study or work abroad. The 16 colleges will be the subject of a special publication to be issued by NAFSA in the spring. The international recognition stretched even further for Dickinson, which was ranked by the Institute of International Education (IIE) as 13th among all U.S. colleges and universities for its “study abroad participation rate.” IIE also honored Chatham College (PA) and its Global Focus Program with the 2002-2003 “Award for Internationalizing the Campus.”

Doug Orr, president of Warren Wilson College (NC), teamed with Bill Edd Wheeler and Rich Bellandro to create the “Elvi.” They performed for Warren Wilson’s 2002 graduation, opening with Hound Dog, and have made subsequent appearances in the college community.

Getting Grants
Twenty-two CIC member institutions received $2 million grants each from the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis in support of programs that prepare a new generation of leaders for church and society. CIC members Azusa Pacific University (CA), Bluffton College (OH), Cardinal Stritch University (WI), Catawba College (NC), Claflin University (SC), College of Saint Benedict (MN), College of Wooster (OH), Dordt College (IA), Elmhurst College (IL), Geneva College (PA), Gordon College (MA), Hastings College (NE), Lee University (TN), Marian College (IN), Milligan College (TN), Mount St. Mary’s College and Seminary (MD), Our Lady of the Lake University (TX), Pacific Lutheran University (WA), St. Bonaventure University (NY), Simpson College (IA), Spelman College (GA), and Wartburg College (IA) were among the 39 liberal arts colleges chosen across the country. Each institution has devised a program that encourages students to reflect on how faith commitments are related to career choices and what it means to be “called” to lives of service. The Endowment received more than 400 proposals from colleges and universities interested in participating. The Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis also provided Manchester College (IN) with a $1 million challenge grant; the trustees of the college have collectively matched the gift.
    Three CIC members have received the single largest donations in their histories. Hollins University (VA) was awarded $5 million by alumna Eleanor D. Wilson in support of the university’s new visual arts center. Notre Dame College (OH) received $1.2 million from the estate of alumna Helen Foose Peterson to support future generations of Notre Dame students. And Mount Alyosius College (PA) received $500,000 from a local businessman wishing to honor his late wife, Carolyn Claycomb Misciagna. The gift will establish a scholarship fund to help needy, full-time students working toward a degree at Mount Aloysius.
    Otterbein College (OH) wrapped up its “Fit for the Future Campaign” with a $450,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation, which capped off a $9.5 million campaign that led to the completion of the Clements Recreation Center. The center broke ground two years ago. Trinity Christian College (IL) received $2 million from a Chicago-area family for a planned science technology building, the Heritage Science Center. And Shenandoah University (VA) was awarded a $1.3 million commercial property gift from Schmidt Baking Company, Inc. Shenandoah agreed to lease a portion of the property back to Schmidt Baking for the next three years, with an option to continue leasing the property thereafter.

Advising and Teaching
Peggy Williams, president of Ithaca College (NY), recently participated in the Visiting Advisors Program of Salzburg Seminar’s Universities Project. She and three other team members spent four days at the College of Nyíregyháza in Hungary, where they consulted with rector Árpád Balogh on a variety of higher education issues. Funded by the Kellogg Foundation, the Visiting Advisors Program seeks to provide higher education leaders in eastern and central Europe and the Russian Federation with the opportunity for consultation and discussion on topics of interest to the host institution. Over the past five years, 50 such visits have occurred.
    Another CIC member president, Ervin Rokke of Moravian College (PA), has been named to the Advisory Council of the United States Institute of Peace. He will serve a three-year term along with other leaders in foreign policy, government, industry, and business, who meet to discuss challenges facing the world in Iraq, Korea, the Middle East, and South Asia.
    And finally, recognition for a life-long teacher: Messiah College (PA) visiting professor of environmental science, Ray Crist, was recently named “America’s Oldest Worker” at 102 years old by Experience Works (DC). Back in 1916, Crist graduated from Messiah Bible School (now Messiah College) and went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University (NY). He later returned to Messiah in 1971 as a faculty member, and remains there today.

Independent
The Council of Independent Colleges
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 320 • Washington, DC 20036
tel: (202) 466-7230 • Fax: (202) 466-7238 • e-mail: mailto:cic@cicnche.edu • www.cic.edu

Last updated: March 2003
Copyright © 2003 The Council of Independent Colleges