Administration: President's Office: Academic Program Planning 1968-73

Item

Title
Eng Administration: President's Office: Academic Program Planning 1968-73
Identifier
Eng 1971-07_Administration_1A34_04_01
Source
Eng 1971-07
Eng 1A34
Eng 4
Date Created
Eng 1968-1973
extracted text
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6

THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE ? ·- ? February 20, 1970

MEMORANDUM

TO:

President McCann /
Executive Vice President Shoben
Vice President Clabaugh
Vice President and Provost Barry
Dean Humphrey
Dean Teske
Dean Holly
Dr. Barringer
Mr. Schillinger

FROM:

Dean Cadwallader Me... .. ~~

SUBJECT:

Statement to prospective faculty.

Here is a rough draft of a statement I would like to mail out to prospective
faculty. Is this an accurate, though incomplete and very tentative, picture
of where we are so far?
MC:ng

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SOr1E PLANS FOR THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE

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Let me tell you something about our plans at Evergreen with ;he under ...
standing tha t all of this is still

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quit ~ tative.

We are scheduled to

open in September 1971 with 800 students and to gr ow slowly toward a top
enrollment of 12,000 some time during the 1980's.
students admitted will be freshmen;

A majority of the first

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students.

Evergreen is the first new state-supported college to be authorized by
The legislative

mandate calls for an innovative institution and one of our first innovations
will be to see if we can avoid some of the more obvious evils of departmenta Hzation by or gan izing the faculty into small, inter-disciplinary teams.
Each team ,.1:i.ll have its m·m integrated problem, theme, or conceptual scheme.

Typical teams \o10uld be made up of four to six faculty who will propose
~

program, design its curriculum, teach it, and evaluate it.

The programs

will vary in duration from a few weeks to two or more years and will vary in
content from broad interdisciplinary themes to sharply focused problems.

For

instance, one team of six faculty with 120 lo\o7er division students might spend
two years on certain historic crises in Hestern civilizations while a four-man
team with eighty upper division students might spend six months on problems in
conceptual analysis, political ecology, or modern biology.

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but there will be some upper division

the Washington State Legislature for over seventy years.

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Evergreen students will move through a sequence of such programs concentrating
on one at a time so as to experience total immersion in a small community committed
to cooperative inquiry.

While there will be no conventional departments, students

will be able to do concentrated work in such disciplines as biology, sociology, or
the spatial arts by working in programs v1ith a strong disciplinary emphasis.

This team-theme structure will allow flexibility and variety in the curriculum as well as continuous evaluation of the curriculum.

We hope that it will also

insure a steady improvement in the teaching process and a stimulating variety of
work options for faculty.

This structure is the simple and flexible one that Joe

Tussman and I have used on the west coast and that I have continued to experiment
with at Old Westbury.

In addition toa variety of team-theme programs in both the lower and
upper divisions, we expect to provide skill courses, workshops and institutes,
a work and field studies program, independent study, especially for upper classmen, and a rich schedule of public events such as lectures, films, exhibits,
and concerts.

Individualized learning will take place within the team-theme

enterprise as well as in more traditional forms of independent study.

Units earned toward graduation will represent accomplishments, standards
met, work finished and evaluated rather than time spent in residence.

Our

grading system will be credit/no credit and the student's transcript will be
qualitative rather than quantitative.

We '-1ill not have an elective system and will not permit the endless proliferation of courses.

Instead of lots of little courses, we plan to offer the

students a rela tive ly small number of coherent programs.

-3Evergreen will need a faculty that is interdisciplinary and cooperative.
In our early recruiting we are placing a lot of emphasis on experience in designing and teaching in experimental programs.

This is especially important for 1970

because these are the eighteen men and women who will design the programs for 1971
and who will help recruit the additional faculty to teach in them.

The most favorable student-staff ratio will be in the lower division rather
than in a graduate school and we plan on keeping The Evergreen State College pre-

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dominantly undergraduate.

Our overriding emphasis is to make and keep it a very

good undergraduate -liberal

a~ts

college.

To insure this, the faculty reward system

will favor successful interdisciplinary teaching, especially in the lower division.
I cannot emphasize enough our determination to reward good teaching and to make

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Evergreen one of the most exciting places to teach anywhere in·the country.

It

will also be one of the most taxing for it is a public institution and the faculty/
student ratio will be one to eighteen.

This means that in the team-theme format,

the individual faculty member will usually be responsible for approximately twenty
students who will do most of their work with him, for the duration of his program's
"term, 11

whether this is a few 't-leeks or a fe't-l months.
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Evergreen 'tvill pioneer ne't-l architectural ideas such as combined office-

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seminar rooms in which a faculty member will read, teach, think, and relax in
study-more like a room in his home than the usual barren classroom.

Instead

of private offices and barren classrooms the faculty and students will work
together in studies and studios.

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2 ):'ear
e.g. Ecology Program

l Year
[First Program

Senior Independent
Study
e.g. Biology

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2 Year Second Program
e.g. Urban Studies

2 Year First Program

3 Year First Program
e.g. Comparative Civilizations

~--2-Yea-r-Pro-gra_m ~ll
__

1 Year Program
e.g. Conceptual
Analysis

1 Year Program
Life
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1 Year Program

Sciences

Biochemistry

2 Year Program
e.g. Crises in Western Civilization

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QUESTIONS FOR EVERGREEN
Mervyn L. Cadwallader

The very competent men that I have been trying to interest in Evergreen
have asked me how many of "the suggestions" in my letter to Dave Barry are
likely to meet with approval at Evergreen and how many of them, if any,
are likely to be implemented.
like some answers myself.

Before I mislead the future faculty, I would

I am not asking for lots of specific detail at

this time, bur rather an indication of the direction in which we are going
to move.

Here are my urgent questions, followed by excerpts from the

suggestions in that earlier letter:

1.

Are we going to make a fairly clear distinction between what Joe

Tussman calls the students first and second programs?

The first program

would be an education in the liberal arts, as defined by Meiklejohn, and
the second would be either a continuation of work in a liberal or general
curriculum or preparation for a vocation.

The first program would usually

last two years, sometimes more and sometimes less.
or not we are going to insure the coherence

an~

I am asking whether

integrity of both the

liberal arts and vocational experiences by keeping them somewhat more distinct and separate than is customary in the lower and upper divisions of
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the typical state college.

2.

What proportion

of the 1971 student body will be admitted as

freshmen (first program) and what

proport~on

as juniors (second program)?

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7.

How much independent study are we going to allmv or encoutage

in the lmver division?

8.

How much independent study in the upper division?

9.

Are we going to have comprehensive examinations and/or final
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projects?

......

(If there is to be substantial independent study, it should
be in the senior year only, except in unusual cases. I am adamant
on one thing and that is that the rampant individualism that has
infected both students and faculty in contemporary America is a
curse.
I think it is most unwise to think about offering most undergraduate students the opportunity of designing their own individual curricula. This is the role and the responsibility of the
teacher and if he cannot and will not do it, he does not belong on
the faculty. It is not and cannot be the role and the responsibility of the typical graduate of an American high school.)

10. Are \Ve going to

previd~e-a

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variety o

from the relatively conventional to the very

wor~

Rtions for the faculty

experim~ ?'Vv1r"t~

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11. Should I solicite the help of the other two deans in recruiting
faculty for upper division programs in a)political economy, b)social and
cultural systems, c)social psychology, d)the history of

civilizations,

and e)political ecology?
(Evergreen should offer a carefully designed mix of both
~--'"traditional) and( experimentalj curricular and teaching techniques. /
substantial proportion of its offerings should be fairly conentional so that the experimental can stand in contrast to the
conventional. Both the experimental and the conventional should
be first-rate.
)

v.·

In addition to providing a varieiy of learning options
for the student, Evergreen should provide a variety of work
options for the faculty. Regular colleges in the sciences
and humanities characterized by a small number of good departments would provide a home base for young faculty. With Evergreen offering experimental and interdisciplinary upper division
programs, courseless and coherent lower division programs, a
departmentalized upper division, as well as skill courses and
workshops, and independent study; the faculty member would have
a variety of opportunities to learn to do different kinds of
teaching at different points in his career.)

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12. Are

we going to build ways of teaching our mvn teachers to teach

at least some of the Evergreen programs?

13. Are

we going to recruit with an emphasis on interdisciplinary

interest and experience?
(If Evergreen is going to emphasize new and better ways of teaching, then ways and means of helping college teachers to help· each
other to learn to teach must be an explicit part of the system.
Well designed programs \vill come to nothing unless we can help
each other discover and perfect the art of teaching. Every dean,
coordinator, and chairman should be charged with the responsibility
of helping each member of his faculty in this very difficult but
exciting business. One device for doing this would be the regular
weekly faculty seminar for each program team)
Strong safeguards must be taken against the usual evils of
academic departmentalization. One such safeguard would be the
steady insistence by the president and academic vice president
that all deans, coordinators, and chairmen be committed to interdisciplinary work and have had somefuterdisciplinary teaching
experience. The faculty should be recruited with emphasis on
interdisciplinary interest and experience. Perhaps, most importantly, the reward system should be biased in favor of interdisciplinary work and this fact should be widely advertised. The
lion's share of the promotions at Evergreen should go to those
who make their contributions in the interdisciplinary programs,
especially in the lower division.)

14. Are

\ve going to bias the Evergreen reward system in favor of

exceptional teaching and interdisciplinary teaching, especially in the
lower division?

15. Are we going to hire good men and women even if they do not
have the Ph.d.?

16. Will the system of academic governance be settled before the 1971
faculty and students arrive?
(Evergreen should create a simple and rational system of
academic governance before the first faculty and students arrive. I would suggest that the Evergreen system of governance
unabashedly assign lots of power and initiative in curriculum
matters to its president, vice president, deans, coordinators,
and chairmen. Great colleges have been the handiwork of great
leaders. Evergreen should encourage creative leadership and
creative administration. A mixed senate or council would be
useful if it provided lots of open communication among students,
faculty, and administration. Keep the number of standing committees as close to zero as possible and have committee work
performed by ad hoc groups that would disband automatically when
their specific task was done.)

17. Will Evergreen break away from the private office-barren classroom
design of the usual academic building?
(Evergreen really should try to break mvay from the private
faculty office-common barren classroom pattern of the usual
academic building. I would recommend the design of officeseminar rooms · or '!studies," or "studios," or "laboratories" in
which the faculty member lives and teaches. I pioneered this
idea at San Jose State and am promoting it at Old Westbury.
it works! ·
The office-seminar rooms, studies, studios, should be exciting visually, comfortable, and well equipped with such audiovisual tools as a 35mm slide projector, pull-dmm screen, and
record player. You should order plenty of video, film, and photo
equipment.)

Will Evergreen break away from the standard academic calendar?

)

19. Will we make a real effort to learn from both the mistakes and
~ successes of such experimental ventures as The New College at San Jose State,

Old Westbury, Hampshire, and others?

20. Are He going to give in to the rampant individualism that has
infected both students and faculty in contemporary America by inadvertently allowing or encouraging each student and each faculty member to do
his own thing?

Or, to put the question a little differently, are we going

to insist on doing Old Westbury over again but in the Pacific Northwest?
(The college should avoid a public relations campaign
that will / give i t the reputationof b,eing "th experim_,ental ~
college" so as to avoid attracting -'s tudents and facu"lty in
search o~ either Summerhill ~(dical particip~tory democracy.)

J

EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE

Experimental

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Lower Division Interdisciplinary
Program in Natural Science

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Writing skills
Languages
Math
Statistics
Research techniques
Film making
Music
Painting
Physical education (Operation
Outward Bound)
Etc.

Lower Division Interdisciplinary
Program in Social Science

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Lower Division INterdisciplinary
Program in Humanities

[An Elective System?]

Fall 1971
Incoming Students &
Parents

TESC Faculty

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Series of all-campus events planned to
make students aware of study options'
available at TESC and to assist them in
making individual choices of program.

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General
~~
Or~ntation and Counseling
Period (1-3 weeks?)

1$

General lectures by faculty and visitors
Panel discussions on cont emporary
problems and programs and relation to
personal academic planning of program.
S ~cial events, concerts, theater, fil m
etc.

(EvALUATION)

Individual Counseling and
selection of program

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Scheduling anJ assignment

Project and Theme
Groups
I,II,III,IV, etc.
General Chm.

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Individualized study
Contracts \)~"(~
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G~ALUATION)

Subgroup '"Chm
Subgroup Chm
nrea A (1-~7 20) area B (1 -~ ' 20)

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area C
(1-JZ, 20)

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(::vALUATION)

Study patterns show
sub groups of 1-20 students
assigned to a particular
faculty person (preceptor ?)
within a project group
for individual counsel and
study guidance.
EVALUATION)
Instructional modes \vill b ·
based on small group instructions ,
Scminar-discussin groups
Tutorial & individ ua l study
Possibilities for self-study
and pursuit of special
individualized progr m l
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E ALUATI T &
continual-improvement of
program

Continuing series of all-campus
events planned in advance
to involve both on and off
campus resources, people, media
with topics selected to phase
with and to give supplement to
project group activities.

THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
February 3, 19 70

MEMORANDUM
TO:

TESC Conference Participants

~ident

THE

E~ERGREr~ ~TATE C'"LL . :-.E

OFFICt OF ·,He.
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McCann
Vice President Barry
Executive Vice President Shoben
Vice President Clabaugh
Donald G. Humphrey, Dean, Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Mervyn L. Cad\vallader, Dean, Division of Social Sciences
Charles B. Teske, Dean, Division of Humanities and Arts
Dr. James Goodman, Director, Black Studies, University of Washington
James Holly, Dean, Library Services
Robert Barringer, Director, Computer Facilities

Conference Consultant-Observers
David Carnahan, Coordinator of Media Services
Malcom H. Stilso~,Staff Librarian
Ken Winkley, Controller
Buel Brodin, Director, Financial Planning
Jerry Schillinger, Direc~or, Facilities Planning
Norm Johnson, Administrative Architect
Don Mace, Construction Coordinator
Donald Parry, Director, Plant Operations
Robert Strecker, Plant Engineer
William Phipps, Staff Architect
Richard Nichols, Director, Information Services
Denis Curry, Office of Interinstitutional Business Studies
FRON:

Provost Barry, Conference Chairman

SUBJECT:

Academic Program Planning Conference
February 8 and 9, 1970 (Sunday and Monday)

I sincerely hope that despite the lateness of the date that your schedule
will allow you to accept invitation to either serve as a participant or as
a consultant-observer in a TESC academic program planning conference on
February 8, 9. The difference in the roles only signifies that the participants
will need all the advice and counsel they can derive from the consult ants
because the participants will come out of the confeTence with some very
definite projected program responsibilities which they\vill have to assume.
Obviously, anyone interested in hearing the discussions is welcome to attend.
PLEASE NOTIFY MRS . KISLER IF YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CO}ffi, BY FRIDAY NOON,
FEBRUARY 6. Lunch will be catered at $1.75 per person.

-

-2TITLE
FIRST STEPS IN ACADEMIC PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT FOR TESC
TIHE
THE CONFERENCE WILL BEGIN AT 9:00 A.H., FEBRUARY 8,
TO CONCLUDE SQl.1E TIME FEBRUARY 9, AS 1-JORK. INDICATES
PLACE
LIBRARY CONFERENCE TRAILER
OPENING REHARKS BY PRESIDENT MCCANN
The following questions will be discussed and preliminary conclusions drawn:

1.

Criteria for Admissions to Evergreen State College.
\\That:

(a)

Credentials, and/or experience and interests mould the
entering student be expected to bring to TESC.

(b)

How can first contact with the student be made to enable
development, to begin identification 6f expectations and
interests on the part of the student and for TESC?

(c) How do we apply these criteria (or any others)?

2.

What should the balance of the first student population be?
What distribution should it include in the follm.;ring categories:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

3.

age
interests
classification, freshman, sophomores, juniors, transfers,
continuing, other?
minority interests
other

What should be the first form of program definition?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Introductory Seminars
Theme groups
Independent Study
Special considerations, contracts, etc.

How can this be planned for and integrated with the computer for
record keeping and identification of activities, space allocation,
and other (?) considerations?

4.

Given a particular balance in program definitions, what kinds of
people should be invited to form the first planning faculty?
(a)
(b)
(c)

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Professional and personal background
Kinds of program involvement
Other
DGB

Essay

I

Statement by 1/Ji llard Humphreys

I have been deep ly involved over the past three years in the gro~ing
pains of a r elative ly new expe ri~ ental colle ge (New College , Saraso ta, ?la.).
Occasiona lly to the detriment of personal professional advance~ent, I have
spent long hours in co::10i ttees, in rap sessions with faculty and students>
and in worrying about better '\.;ays to relate to, and assist the l earning of,
students . It has been a manic sort of experience, alternating bet'.c'een e:·:hiliration and- despair. But _I wouldn*t have missed a minute of it . .And I \olant to
continue.
I am strongly supportive of cost of the aims set out by Presiden t }!cCann
for Evergreen (I'll come to the exceptions in a ma.nent.) lA~inistrative ani
especially, faculty flexibility is the key to success. "Clots," as C!e c a lls
them, have got to be broken -and a kind of st able chaos created . I agree that
this requires abolition of ordinary line a~inistration, stud ent gove~nient in
the 'usual sense, traditional tenure arrangements, and "the course." ?-;ew College
has got .rid of much of this. (Notable exception: te nure . I uas a,-,.tarded tenure
la~~yea ~ but declined in hopes of pro~pting f urther exa~ination of alt ernatives . )
Still, other blockages continue to aris e . ! therefore feel President ~cCann*s
list needs to be expanded to includ e such things as the "c.?..se preced ent" approach to educational policy which faculties and administrations auto~atically
apply when atte~pting to be fair without c reating ri gid general policy. On
the \·!i1ole, the use of precedents as guideli.Pes produces a sit;.: at i::m i:: ~~:-,::..ch
everyone is tre ated equally unfairly and no one knm·IS Hhat the rules of the
game really are .
I think s~ue mention also should be made of the kind of leadership anG
power vacuUDs '1·7hi ch arise under "flexible" adm::.nistration. ?or what President
McCann refers to as clots are invariably seen fro~ the other side as essential
protections against arbitrariness . (I agree that they are inessential, b~t thit
is not the point.) wnen they are re moved , it is not unco~on for t eachers and
students to d,(velop a kind of paranoid fear of arbitrary actions by perso::s -who
are merely trin
,, g to exercise modest leadership. Pn extraordinary level of mutual
trust is required in order to overco~e this problem .
:f very nu ch approve of the projected v7ork-study progrc:Q. This may be surprising in view of the somewhat esoteric character of my scholarly int e rests
(history and philosophy of science ) . lBut I should explain that as a teacher
I am more excited by work done with students who are seeking to au2~Y id eas
and abstractions fro~ my field elsewhere than with the training of professional
historians and philosophers of science. Not only does this give ~e a sense
o f relevance in teachin g , it also generates more int e resting relationships with
,students personally . I enjoy close relations with students but cannot tolerate
'the guru-disciple syndrome. I think it is f a ir to say that I have achieved
good rapport with students at New Colle ge . The fact that I have been an advocate
of an equal role for student s in decision-making probably has helped.
Let me conclude by taking issue 'IJith a couple of items in President McCann*s
statement .

'------··

Page 'f';vo

.
I

s am dismaye d at the absence of any policy guidelines on stud ent
freedom outside the academic realm. This can be justified rhetorically
(too much has been made of the issue on all sides already), but operationally the matter is of the utmost import ance. It will be tragic indeed
if students arrive at Ever gree~ saying, "3ut \ve \-7ere led to believe. . • ! 11
And give~n the tendency of toda y's students to blur the lines bett.Jeen
academic and non-academic freedoms some \·7 i 11 cert ainly be led to believe
by President McCann's statement~
Secondly, I wish to object to the rhetoric used in characterizing
relations with the "outside" community. It is seemingly realistic but
too often self-deceptive to say, '~e don't ~believe in doing such-andsuch, but the outside community \vill destroy the institution if He don't . 11
Ne\v College, located in a hostile and ultraconservative region, has faced
this problem in ways Evergreen will, I hope, never experience. We have
been threatened with "burning" (John Birch Society), "extermination 11 (a
coalition of local veterans' groups), and repeatedly villified as "liberal
Communists. 11 Only the support of a \•7ea lthy bloc of education-conscious
retirees within the community has kept the institution afloat. Nevertheless,
when the Administration tHo years ago quit talking of doing things to placate the community fihe results were salutary. Students and faculty simply
ignored the extremists and go~ off the defensive. _. Qradually, relations with
the community have improved. Few people feel compromised, but students and
faculty are actually doing more nov7 than before to solidify community support.

* *
I think the kinds of experience I have had could be of value to Evergreen. Because it is starting afresh, many of my preco~ceptions would prove
to be irrelevant. I'd very m~ch like to find out \mich.

1t/J!-uJ !L4
Willard Humphreys
New College
February 19, 1970

FEB l ·;

197~ 1DJ

The Evergreen State College
Vice President and Provost

THE EVERGREF ~ STATE C'';ll~G O:

OFFICE

(if }f¢mofrRtQ~:r,ro all staff &
From:

Pr~vos

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Subject:
I want to express appreciation to all
of you for the support you gave to the
conference work. It is essential that
we have full communication and interchange
of ideas and information at this early
stage of planning to enable as much
sharing of judgments as possible.
Everyone who came tothe conference
contributed by just being there. Some
of you took the initiative to raise
points and questions during the meetings.
I'm grateful that you did because for
TESC to succeed, all people must have
an understanding of their colleagues
and it's this kind of cooperation that
will assure such understanding.
The first pass at academic program definition
was difficult but was also successful.
We will carry it forward from there.
Again, thanks to you for coming to work
on one of the sunniest days we've had.
That took sacrifice and we appreciate it.

Olympia. Washington 98501 / Phone (206) 753-7500

BEGINNING
FALL 1971

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Incom in6 Students & Parents

TESC FACULTY

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Genera l
Orientation and Counselin
Period (1-3 weeks )

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make students aware of study options
available at TESC and to assist them in
making individual choices of program tha t
match interests and ultimate goals.

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oppo rtunities as they relate to perscnal
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event8, conc erts, theater, l ectures,
films, discussion groups etc.

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INTRODUCTORY REMARKS FOR PLANNING,

PHASE II

Charles J. McCann, President
The Evergreen State College
February 8, 1970
· This important meeting begins the second of the three phases in opening
Evergreen. A year ago last Christmas, in December 1968, I outlined to the
Academic Advisory Committee three planning phases, the second of which would
begin in July 1969 when the deans and principal directors would draw criteria
for faculty selection, begin recruiting, draw criteria for admissions, broad
outlines of governance, etc., in terms of guidelines which were to be reviewed
by that Advisory Committee. We're six months beyond that date, but I do not
feel panicked, since late this summer we will begin our third phase on
schedule, having identified many good candidates for faculty and other
positions in the process of becoming acquainted with you gentlemen. In any
case, the extra six months' investment came to happy fruition in people whose
experience and professional directions hold rich promise for Evergreen's
development.
The beginning of planning Phase II affords an appropriate moment to
review with you the concept of Evergreen that the Advisory Committee reviewed,
and that the Board of Trustees supports. The Governor and last legislature
also supported the concept to the remarkable extent of funding half our opening year faculty for next year to prevent failure through lack of faculty
understanding--that common cause of new institutions' failing to realize
their original promise.
I urge you not to deviate from the concept, or, if you wish, this outline
of Evergreen's character, an outline which represents the expectations of the
whole gamut of our constituencies. I say this without fear that you'll feel
your professional discretion to have been hampered; my courage has been
bolstered, as a matter of fact, because men like you came here because of
that outline.
Rather, I review it with you to bolster your courage, for the next few
months, in view of two things: First, you'll get sinking feelings as you
try to concretize various aspects of the concept in the face of real difficulties and of tradition; and second, the concept in full--and at its most
audacious--must be presented to prospective faculty with the expectation
that they will continue with us in the struggle to make Evergreen work.
We must not waste planning time in going back to zero, and we must
establish a strong institutional character from the beginning.
The inelegant words of the goals plead for editing, but the substance
has been carefully considered.
This college has collected scholars and experts who, insofar
as they inquire in their fields of interest, will by their presence
here together form a living link between our present society and

-2the past, a source of power with which to help us all meet the
future. Students will work as colleagues with faculty and others,
and together these people will ~ (that word is emphasized because
it involves all of the college's people in continual change) to
create a place whose graduates can as adults be undogmatic citizens and uncomplacently confident individuals in a changing world.
We assume that toward this end the most valuable service
Evergreen can offer is to initiate a process of continuing learning by preparing a student with the methods of learning and
experimentation, by encouraging independence in pursuit of
inquiries that interest and motivate him, and by providing him
with counsel and resources to test this knowledge and ability. Put
negatively, we do not intend to stamp a "product" with a brand of a
particular academic elite nor of a narrowly conceived vocation.
Evergreen's task, then, is to begin a process of continuing learning.
We should be pleased if our graduate turns out to be a generalist, or one
familiar with one of today's great problems, and satisfied if he's a
specialist, even a narrow one. Terms like ubreadth and depth requirements"
will have no place here, since they assume that the B. A. is, on one hand,
the end of all education, or, in a few cases, not even the beginning, but
simply a prep school for "real" learning later.
Statements of goals, however, have not defined the college's character
so much as a few key specifics of execution. The specifics which characterize
Evergreen:
1.

Areas of inquiry will be those generally found under the headings of
natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, understanding that
this includes the idea of study in interdisciplinary problem areas,
and that it excludes the strictly vocational.

- 2.

Particular emphasis must be given to those areas which can take best
advantage of the college's location at the seat of state government.

- 3.

Only one college requirement for the B. A. degree: 36 units (each
roughly equivalent to the level of reading and writing required for a
stringent five-quarter credit)~ with the understanding that these units
represent accomplishments, not accumulations of time.

- 4.

Modes of instruction would probably slant toward seminars for most in
the first two years with appropriate weaning, via programmed self-study
and tutorials, toward increasing independent work with admixtures of
regular classes and large lectures (which would not be "classes"). If
fourth-year students aren't doing most of their work independently, wetve
failed.

- 5.

A studentts program would be individual, developed with the advice (and
consent) of a faculty advisor. The advice must be informed, close and
careful. A student should be able to progress on his own terms and speed.
This does not mean "grooving in the grass." Here much depends on the

-3faculty member, who ought not to be hidden behind row upon row of
committees who have given prior approval of what's going on and whose
face depends on what happens to him. His status at Evergreen ought to
be on the line with every approval.
- 6.

It must be possible to generate units by work-study; it's extremely
important that we have an effective program. The question has been
raised as to whether it can be effective if it's not a requirement. I
feel very strongly that the absence of "requirements" is an absolutely
basic understanding of the place.
A word on "requirement":
Situation A - A student has a limited choice of seminars in his first
year; he must pick one. I do not consider that a "requirement,"
since that's all that is available. (Although, even here we must make
a route for bright students who can begin independent work immediately.)
- Situation B - A student does not get credit from a professor for a
contracted unit because he has been either illiterate or sloppy in
his presentation. We need to distinguish standards of performance
from "requirements." I would hope that colleagues would not recommend retention for instructors who let illiterate presentations get
by.
Situation C - A student is faced when he begins his program with a
series of hurdles to the B. A. degree in the form of particular discrete activities that he must go through. It is this sense of
"requirements" that has no place in the Evergreen concept.

- 7.

The "grades" will be credit/no credit.

- 8.

Each faculty member should be responsible for close to 54 students whose
work with that particular faculty member represents a third of the student's
load, or 18 students whose work with that faculty member is their whole
load (the equivalent of three-unit intensive courses).

I hope you won't mind if I close with some personal predilections with
regard to today's agenda items--having gotten to know all of you a little, I
can't count on putting these words in edgewise later, so I'll slip them in
in advance.
Admissions:
We should state very carefully the extent of self-discipline called for
so that those who don't think they can stand living with themselves or don't
have the maturity to go talk to instructors, those who would rather move
through a routine or who want the strictly vocational, who don't believe us
when we say what the impact of an education like this on their future job
possibilities will be, may choose a more suitable place, or at least come
here better prepared for what they're in for.

-4All publications, including the catalog, ought to exercise an effect
which matches the students with Evergreen who can best profit from work here.
It will be necessary--no, essential--to phase in community college transfers and, in the future, in probably far larger number than those who begin
college at Evergreen. I have very grave doubts, however, as to whether it's
wise to bring in transfers at the very beginning. Evergreen, as Joe Shoben
hqs put very well, needs time in which to allow the unique organism to grow,
to acquire strength so that it can respond to reactionary forces with some
vitality and muscle. To bring in transfers at the beginning has one advantage-their greater maturity--but two drruJbacks--(1) They force us to plan more of
the program at once than perhaps we should. (2) And most important, they
bring a momentum in their college careers filled with expectations that I
don't think Evergreen's atmosphere will have developed the muscle to change.
I'm afraid they'll shift us right into the old patterns.
Our planning for the first one or two years must (l) be an effective
transition between the prescription of high school and the great freedom of
choice that will characterize Evergreen, and (2) develop ability and independence in at least one mode of inquiry.
Can we give preference to people out of college for a year or more,
housewives, ex-servicemen, in order to increase our mix of ages in the first
year?
Can we insist on literacy at entrance?
What about the possibilities of joining with the community college and
perhaps the public schools in Tacoma in identifying young blacks who are
interested in college, giving them orientation, special academic help where
necessary, and advising, hoping to get the college-ready ones at Evergreen?
I mentioned this earlier on, but haven't heard further about feasibility.
Recruiting of First Planning Faculty:
The understandings that have been developed so far should have the force
of Conditions of Employment.
When we no longer can find students to meet with someone, I hope we'll
be able to give a terminal contract. In hiring faculty, even the planning
contingent, we can't lose sight of keeping a fairly even match of students
per teaching faculty member. Some of us can help lighten the load, but
there won't be very much leeway. A considerable lightener of load will be
the fact that certain faculty in library (see Holly's position papers and
Shoben's library memo), computer services, and to a lesser extent, student
services, will be available for direct student contact (in the sense of
production of units). Faculty who work with Deans Teske, Humphrey and
Cadwallader should be used from the very beginning to collaborate with
counterparts who work with Dean Holly and Director Barringer and the yetto-be-named Director for Student Services.

-5Academic:
Academic administrative organization will be based on three divisions
with program evaluation and allocation of resources to task forces, project
groups and other forms under the supervision of the respective Deans working
with the Provost.
Dave Barry and the Deans have chosen this outline as a means of avoiding
the calcification which seems attendant upon academic departmentalization.
It will take hard, imaginative work and assiduous persuasion by Provost and
Deans, who will have my full support.
This meeting does not take up broader (deeper) issues of governance.
These issues will be high on our agenda in the near future, settled provisionally by fall 1970, and settled definitely by fall 1971.

-2TITLE
FIRST STEPS IN ACADEHIC PROGRi\M DEVELOPHENT FOR TESC

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THE CONFERENCE vHLL BEGIN AT 9:00 A. H. , FEBRUARY 8,
TO CONCLUDE S011E TIHE FEBRUARY 9, AS HORK INDICATES
PLACE
LIBRARY CONFERENCE TRAILER
OPENING REHARKS BY PRESIDENT MCCANN
The following questions ,.;rill be dis cussed and preliminary conclusions drawn:

1.

Criteria for Admissions to Evergreen State . College.
vlhat:
(a) Credentials, and/or experience and interests mould the
entering student be expected to bring to TESC.
(b)

How can first contact VJith the student be made to enabie
development, to begin identification of expectations and
interests on the part of the student and for TESC?

(c) llmv do we apply these criteria (or any others)?
2.

V..lhat should the balance of the first student population be?
What distribution should it include in the follo,ving categories:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

3.

age
interests
classification, freshman, sophomores, juniors, transfers,
continuing , other?
minority interests
other

What should be the first form of program definition?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Introductory Seminars
Theme groups
Independent Study
Special considerations, contracts , etc.

How can this be planned for and integrated 'vith the computer for
reco rd keeping and identification of activities, space allocation,
and other (?) considerations?

4.

Given a particular balance in program definitions, what kinds of
people should ·b e invited to form the first planning faculty?
(a)
(b)
(c)

Professional and personal background
Kinds of program involvement
Oth er
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ARTS BUILDING
PHASE I

Basis For Planning
Capacity of Facility - 5600 Students
Basis for Space Calculation The number of students enrolled in the fine arts program has been
assumed at 20% of target enrollment. It has been assumed that each
involved student \vill spend 6 hours a week in fine arts facilities.
Therefore, 1120 students (5600 x .20) will produce 6720 (1120 x 6)
weekly contact hours. The facilities indicated below contain 320
stations. At 80% station utilization and a 26 hour per week utilization, the capacity would be 6656 weekly student hours. The
distribution of laboratory for the various activities,drawing, water
colors, etc., \vas based on an educated guess.
Facilities To Be Included In Project
Gallery
Water Color Labs (20 Stations) 2 @ 1200
Oil Painting Labs (20 Stations) 2 @ 1400
Dra,ving Labs (20 Stations) 2 @ 1200
Graphics Design Lab (20 Stations)
Printmaking Lab (10 Stations)
T\vo Demensional Design Labs (20 Stations)
Three Demensional Design Labs (20 Stations)
Sculpture
Metal (10 Stations)
Wood (20 Stations)
Clay (20 Stations)
Plaster (20 Stations)
Ceramics (20 Stations)
Special Projects Labs (20 Stations)
Photography (10 Stations)
Cinematography (10 Stations)
Laboratory Service Area
Shops
Still Life Storage
Model Dressing
Kitchen Gallery
Dark Room (Developing)
Dark Room (Printing)
Glasing (Ceramics)
Kiln (Ceramics)
Spray (Ceramics)
Storage (Ceramics)

Net Assignable Square Feet
3,000
2,400
2,800
2,400
1,400
1,000
1,200
1,600
1,000
1,600
1,600
1,600
1,600
1,200
1,000
1,000
1,600
400
100
100
200
600
600
300
100
200

FINE ARTS BUILDING

Lockers
General Storage
Receiving-Shipping
Offices 4 @ 120
Studios 12 @ 240
Clerical Areas 1 @ 400
Classrooms 4 @ 400
Total Net Assignable Space
Net to Gross Ratio 62%
Gross Square Feet
Justification for Constructing Project
No fine arts facilities were included in Phase I.
Approximate Cost of Project
¥..ACC

Project Cost

Page 2

2,000
600
400
480
3,600
400
1,600
39,680
64,000