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Title
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Eng
(variety of memorandum)
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Identifier
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Eng
1971-07_Administration_1A35_01_01
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Source
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Eng
1971-07
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Eng
1A35
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Date Created
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Eng
1969-1971
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extracted text
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THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
September 15, 1971
MEMORANDUM
TO: •
All Evergreeners
FROM:
Academic Programs
SUBJECT:
Academic Program Plans -- September 27 through October 25
It seems appropriate that everyone be informed about what kinds of activities
the v arious Coordinated and Contracted Studies programs will be engaged in
during the rather hectic interim period prior to their more formal arrival on
campus October 26. To that end we hope the following program summaries are
informative. If you wish more complete information, contact program faculty.
1.
Individual in Al-uerica (152 students); program secretary, Janis Brand; phone
3955; coordinator - Willi Unsoeld; fa culty - Bill Aldridge, Peggy Dickinson,
Earle McNeil, Carol Olexa , Pete Sinclair, LeRoi Smith.
All of the Individuals in America · ~.;rill endure a do-or-die Hilderness experience
in the North Cascades wilderness area during the period October 4 through
October 18. Activities will include instruction in survival technique, rock
climbing, a wilderness project in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service,
and campfir e seminars centered around the book, Four Ways of Being Human .
From October 19 through October 22, program members will thaw out and prepare
for the move to campus. Upon the return to TESC the group will assess the
;.;rilderness experience in seminars and move into the next phase of their
program .
The logistics of this operation boggles the mind.
concerned.
2.
~-
Our best wishes to all
Man and Art (59 students); program secretary, Cheryl Anderson; phone 3960;
I
coordinator - Jose Arguelles; faculty - Donald Chan, Cruz Esquivel.
A writing proj ect, regional seminars, field trips to the Seattle Art Museum
and the initiation of creative projects will get the Man and Art program
started duiing the month of October. McLuhan's Understanding Media will
provide food for discussion and a stimulus for the first essay to be written
prior to the group's assembling on campus.
.
3.
Political Ecology (105 students); program secretary, Kathy Tullis; phone 3954;
coordinator - Edward Kormondy; faculty - Richard Anderson, David Milne,
Oscar Soule, Fred Tabbutt.
Adapt and survive is a basic ecological principle. The political ecologists
are foll01;ving this maxim as they plan for an i nterim period of activity,
including assigned r eading, initiation of research projects, some writing
and a field tr ip •lestgned to make real some of t he book learning of the f Lrst
two weeks of the program . Books t o be read include Ko rmondy's Concepts of
Ecology, Bates 1 The F'orC'.:?_!_ an_d the Sea and a Scientific American special on
Th e Biosphere. Field trip and living ar r angements for out-of-stat e stttdents
are b~ing taken care of by cooperative gro up a~tivity .
-;;
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E::RGREEN STATE COLLEGE
August 20, 1971
MEMORANDUM
TO:
David Brown, John Moss, Ken Paull, Al Wiedemann, Byron Youtz
FROM:
Charles Teske
SUBJECT:
Disappearing Task Force Assignment -- Part-Time Students
David Barry has asked me to convene a DTF to formulate and to recommend
policies governing the enrollment of part-time students, especially in the
first quarter of 1971-72. I am asking you, with apologies to the faculty
"volunteers," to meet with me in order to get the job done by September 15,
if not earlier.
Our charge, in normal DTF style, might be framed thus:
(1)
Research, review, and discuss the previous thinking at Evergreen
about the roles of various types of part-time students within the
broader educational functions of the College; the research should
also clarify the financial arrangements within the College concerning
part-time study and the State policies and procedures concerning our
involvement with part-time students.
(2) . Research, discuss, and plan alternative methods for accommodating
part-time students in 1971-72, and especially in the first quarter-taking under consideration such problems as (a) funding and budgeting,
(b) availability of faculty and staff to serve part-time students,
(c) opportunities for and limitations upon part-time membership in
Coordinated Studies programs, (d) opportunities for and limitations
upon part-time work in Contracted Studies, (e) the development of
special academic programs for part-time students, (f) accommodation
of those part-time students already admitted, (g) the development of
guidelines about the number and kinds of part-time students who might
be admitted in late September, and (h) other matters which we may
deem appropriate.
(3)
Make a final report on the current status of part-time study and
submit recommendations to the Provost for consideration by the President's
Council, including: (a) the objectives of planning for part-time study,
(b) alternative methods for achieving these objectives under present and
foreseeable limitations, and (c) judgments by the task force evaluating
the alternative methods.
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
June 8, 1971
MEMORANDUM
To:
Joseph Shohenp;
From:
Perrin
. Subject~
\.
D
aJ~fffi[~L1JW( ~~
JUL 14 1971
_v
Smith,~
Closing of Part-time Student Applications for Admission
I am in sympathy with your feeling that closing nmv of part-time student
applications for admission is inappropriate and misses our long-existing
objective to involve these people in our first year's operation.
It does appear to me that our institution is tending to reflect at this moment
the traditional reluctance of part-time students to accomplish much tmvard
admission until re gistration day arrives .
I fully expect us to have a flurry of such people in September. These, unlike
those bventy-seven already in hand will appear \vithout any deep degree of
unders tanding of our curriculum and its differentness . During this period o f
opening crunch , it is more likely than not that these people will receive other
than sympathetic or understanding treatmen t from many of us, frankly, but
particularly from the faculty members who seemingly are unprepared to deal \vith
such an eventuality.
It i s possible \ve could mortally \vound ourselves in the matter of part-time
students for all time unless we really have our ducks in a row immediately
preceeding the fall registration period, and prepare to accom})'date these people
to the best of all our combined efforts.
Briefly, I will restate my fear that we will also mortally wound ourselves by
taking part-time students into Coordinated Studies pro grams >vhich admittedly
are not geared properly for participation by this group of students.
I note, Joe, that part-time student program planning falls on the Teske Desk.
PCS: lt
The Evergreen State College Team Report;
Danforth
~vorkshop
on Li ber a l Education, 1971
Circumspection: The members of the Evergreen team, unlike the representatives
from other institutions, came to the Workshop from a year of full-time planning
and preparation for opening rather than from a year of actual operation. We
therefore felt the need not so much to wo rk up spacious ne~:.v ideas as to \vork
out the implications of those large ideas \vhich had engaged us over the previous
ten months. The I.Jorkshop provided occasions and stimuli for such activity ~:.vith
in the Evergreen team. More important, it provided opportunities for many kinds
of inte rchange with other people dedi cate d to higher education; from formal pre sentations through small-group meetings to a goodly numbe r of e xtensive personal
conversations. In one way or another, most of our assumptions \vere put to the
test. Our \vorkshop colleagues asked questions about our programs and policies,
prodde d us to clarify our ans\vers (many of 1:.11hich had become a kind of short hand
or system of catchwords within the Evergreen circle), drew out comparisons with
their own institutions, made suggestions, and in general forced us to think
through our plans in the larger context of a friendly, well-wishing, but somewhat
skeptical educational community.
The Workshop has thus amounted to an intensive exercise in ~eorientation and redefinition. If we remain firmly committed to trying out our central programs
and policies, 1:.ve are all the more aware of the procedural difficulties which He
are likely to encounter. We have listened attentively to stories of other innovative programs which have failed or regressed toward more conventional procedures.
He have also rec e ived much encouragement from our Horkshop colleagues to r ealize
the goals set forth in our first catalog. And we have acquired a more precise
understanding of how we must explain our programs and policies to the educational
community at large if our e xpe riences at Evergreen are to be made useful to the
academic planners in other colleges and universities.
We have found, then, that our problems may be more complex than we had thought
and that our efforts, if no less energetic, must entail more circumspection. But
we have also found that we have many companions on our path; that other academic
planners have, over the past year, arrived independently at programmatic innovations similar to ours; that the alternative routes open to us for f uture exploration
may be more numerous and attractive than \ve had thought; and that, though the
problems besetting undergraduate institutions may seem insuperable, our Danforth
\.Jorkshop colleagues may yet find •·mys to match idealistic rhetoric with effective
performance, mass education \vith humane education .
alpha
beta
PEOPLE(C. Teske)
PR::JG~c\...'! 5
C o~ te"-?orary ~~e rican Minorities
S?ace , Time, and Form
So ·..tthe:;s t Asia
The Play's the Thing
I nd ividual, Citizen, and State
~;a~ and Art
Contracted Studies Team A
Associated 1vorkshops, etc.
J.
D.
B.
B.
c.
D.
D.
L.
D.
P.
R.
P.
K.
J.
s.
Di:SKS
B.
Ar gue lles
Chan
CrmJe
Estes
Esquivel
He ar d
Hitchens
Kahan
Harr
Harsh
Hartin
Robinson
Thompson
ivebb
\.lhite
Youtz
Colle ge Catalog
Relations
Ar:s 3uildic.g(s)
Librar:; Orde rs
Fund Raisi~g(Student Scholarships, Faculty
Fellm•ships)
Student Evaluation and Records
PL~lic
La~gua~e
P = ogra~s
?1..:1:J l i:: Events
Internships , etc .
Cc~tr ac t ed Studies
C cu~sel in the Arts and Humanities
Ad~anced Placemen t and Credit by Examination
Part - Ti me St uden t Program Planning
PROGRAl'tS
ga:mua
PEOPLE( ~!.
Causality, Freedom , and Chance
Human Development
Human Behavior
Environmental Design
R.
N.
L.
R.
Contracted Studies Team B
Associated Workshops , etc.
L.
T.
P.
c.
s.
w.
R.
E.
c.
c.
L.
DESKS
w.
Faculty Handbook
Faculty Rec ruitment
Seminar Building
Fac ulty Evaluation
Prog ram Evaluation
Academic Calendar
Space Assignments
Overse as Programs
Orientat5.on and Ceremonials
Coordinated Studies
Counsel in the Social Sciences
G.
R.
N.
F.
Cadwallader)
Alexande r
Allen
Ande rson
Bri.:In
Dobbs
Eickstaedt
Gers tl
Harding
Herman
Humphreys
Jones
Lars on
Nisbe t
Pail thorp
Patterson
Parson
Portnoff
Sluss
Taylor
Young
P ROG RJ.\NS
Political Ecology
Individual in America
Communication and Intelligence
Problem Solving
Contracted Studies Team C
Associated .Workshops, etc.
PEOPLE( D.
B.
R.
B.
G.
P.
E.
E.
D.
Hu~ph re y)
Ald:- idge
A:1C-2 rso n
Bar::ard
Beck
Dlc k i~son
Kor::: o ~dy
~~.: :~ t3 il
~! iln e
c.
DESKS
Ole xa
P. Sin clai r
L. Sr:tith
R. Sogge
0. Sou le
F. Tab oc tt .
P. Taylo r
w. Unsoeld
A. Wiede;::Jann
Budget
Travel Authority
Equip me nt Purchases
AV Eq1,1ipment
Laboratory Facilities
Admissions
Grants
Clerical
Workshops and Self-Paced Le arning
Counsel in the Natural Sciences and Matheoatics
DTF's
DTF 's
DTF's
Tte Arts Building & t he Arts and Humanities
St~de~t Evalua ti on & Portfolios and Records
La ~guage ? r og•ams
PLbli c Events
(interim)Hork-Study,Internships,Cooperative Ed.
Con tracted Studies
Faculty Evaluation and Program Evaluation
Overseas Programs
Student Orientation for September
Role of Coordinator and Team
Coordinate4 Studies Logistics
6/21/71
jv~
l EEVE
ffiCE THE
Ad missio ns
Work sh ops and Sel f-P aced Learning
Co mp ut e r Assisted Instruction
Fa cu lty . Summer Orientation
Labo r a t 0 ry Facili ties
PRO VOST I s DTF I 5
Sabbatical Leaves
Public Affairs
Faculty Status and Tenure Miscellaneous In s tiInterinstitutional Liaison tutional and Interinstitutional Preble~~
(Community Colle ge
· Curricular Study,etc.)
££N STATE.COlLl£ £
ICE £SlOt TFO BU I ESS
\..
The Evergreen State College
June 2, 1971
Mr. Dean Clabaugh
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, Washington 98501
Dear Dean:
We are pleased to invite you to attend an important Planning Conference of
The Evergreen State College faculty to be held June 13 through 19, 1971.
Enclosed is a tentative schedule which should give you some idea of the
kinds of activities planned for this conference.
The purpose of this conference is to enable new members of the faculty to
meet each other, become a cquainted with the current members of the Evergreen
community, and prepare for the arrival of our first students in September.
We should have determined program assignments by conference time. The
conference will enable you to establish contact with the faculty working in
their programs, and to get a better idea of their needs and expectations.
The planning committee would appreciat e it if you would send any suggestions
you may have as to what questions concern you, what kinds of things you
would like to discuss, and what kinds of activities you would find most
useful during this important planning time.
The first four days of the conference will be held at the University of
Washington's Pack Forest near Eatonville. The accommodation is "primitive
bunkhouse." Sheets are provided, but you should bring your own blankets or
sleeping bag. Clothing style is grubby. Bring hiking boots and/or tennis
shoes. Bring towels and swim suits. The total cost of the conference at
Pack Forest (meals, lodging, transportation, etc.) will be $15 per day. The
Evergreen State College (Instruction and Departmental Research) will reimburse
you $15 per day for the time you are at Pack Forest.
You will receive additional information regarding the conference as it becomes
available. Please be sure ro let Don Humphrey (3415) know at once if there
are any changes in your plans to attend the Pack Forest part of the conference.
Sincerely,
JUNE PLANNING CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
jvk
Enclosure
Olympia, Washington 98501 I Phone (206) 753-3413
June 13 - June 19
Saturday, June 12
-
Arrival, check into Evergreen Inn
Sunday, June 13
0900 1100 - 1330
1330 - 1500
1500
1700
1830
2000
-
1700
1830
1930
2130
Depart from Evergreen Inn by bus to Pack Forest
Check in, Lunch, Get Acquainted.
Organization and Objective of Conference
l'kCann - "Evergreen Givens" & discussion
3 Deans - The Curriculum
Meet in faculty teams
Recreation
Dinner
Group meeting
Barry - "Academic Organization"
Nichols -"Historical vignettes"
Monday, June 14
0530 0730· 0900 1000 1230 1430 1630 1730 1830 2000 -
0700
0830
1000
1230
1430
1630
1730
1830
1930
Outdoor encounter - Unsoeld
Breakfast
Shoben talk and discussion
Faculty team program planning
Lunch and siesta
Program supports - Holly, Barringer and Clabaugh
Team program planning
Recreation
Dinner
Indoor encounter - Alexander
Tuesday, June 15
0700
0800
1030
1430
-
1800 -
0800
1030
1400
1730
Breakfast
The Evergreen Students - Finley, StenberP,, Smith, Taylor
Team program planning in the field - sack lunches
Faculty and administrative evaluation, rank, tenure.
Jones and McCann
Evergreen party.
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
March 24, 1971
MEMORANDUM
TO:
The Evergreen Community
FROM:
r EEVERGREEN STATE COlLLEGE
Don Humphrey, Charles Teske, and Merv Cadwallader FTHE VI EPR£~1 r TF 11 BUSINESS
SUBJECT:
The next ten weeks
)
The three schools plan to spend 10 weeks running through every aspect ~i two
hypothetical programs, one in coordinated studies and the other in contracted
studies. These simulations will start up on March 22 and shut down on May 28.
The deans and the faculty will meet every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 12
noon throughout this 10-week period. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS SACRED TIME.
THE DEANS AND FACULTY WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FROM 9 a.m. TO NOON BETWEEN MARCH
22 AND MAY 28. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS WITH THEM DURING
THOSE HOURS!
In addition to, but coordinated with this 10-week simulation exercise, each
dean will call, charge, chair, and dismiss the ad hoc committees that are his
special res ponsibility. These meetings will be scheduled in the afternoons
only.
The simulation exercises planned by the schools will include the writing of
program constitutions; detailed simulations of a complete week; the evaluation
of students, the faculty, and the programs; a testing of all th e administr ~~-ve
desks; and, the scheduling of a variety of public events. Each and evf;;.ry one
of you will be invo lved in some way, so please do not laugh or panic if you see
a confused gaggle of faculty coming your way.
Here is a list of the issues, tasks, questions, and problems that will form the
basis of our simulation exercises for the next few weeks. We believe that if
we all take this exercise seriously we may get through the whole of next year
with a minimum of confusion and only a few catastrophes.
Ttill EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
February 17, 1970
HEMORANDUM
: lf!V'?~~~
~-r ., ~ 19!0 .V
TO:
President McCann
FROM:
Office of the Provost, Conference Chairman
SUBJECT:
Summary of Academic Planning Conference, February 8 and 9, 1970
This conference summary statement has been prepared as a reference point to which
we can turn for guidance as needed on "basic understandings and goals" as we
pursue the more specific development of TESC academic program.
CONFERENCE
CHAIR}~
- David G. Barry, Vice Provost
CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS
President Charles S. HcCann
Executive Vice President Ed'I<Jard J. Shoben
Vice President Dean Clabaugh
Donald G. Humphrey, Dean, Division of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics
Mervyn L. Cadwallader, Dean, Division of Sociay!Sciences
Charles B. Teske, Dean, Division of Humanities and Arts
James Holly, Dean, Library Services
Robert Barringer, Director, Computer Facilities
Tim Dugan, University of vlashington, Student Hember of TESC
Advisory Committee
CONFERENCE CONSULTANT-OBSERVERS
David Carnahan, Coordinator of Media Services
Halcolm H. Stilson, Staff Librarian
Ken Winkley, Controller
Buel Brodin, Director, Financial Planning
Jerry Schillinger, Director, 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
James Johnson, Office of Computer Facilities
- r~ . !fo;k~~
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
September 11, 1970
MEMORANDUM
To:
Dean Mervyn Cadwallader
From:
Joseph Shoben
Subject:
Our planned curriculum
&f]r€rm~mv;r~{D J
SEP 21 1970
JFFICE!#fr~~E~ftn~ESTATE
COLL ~
SIOENT FORBUSINESS
I
Much impressed by your pre·s entation of our curricular plans at the Trustees'
retreat, I've been dying to talk with you about the program. I'm dying even
more, however, to get away on a bit of a holiday; and my typewriter seems
more agreeable to late-hour times of communion than do people with lives of
their own to lead. As a result, I'm setting down these reflections, hoping
that they will serve as a basis for a discussion that is only deferred, not
lost. (Besides, we're overdue for that session of twisting the cosmos's tail:
I want to sound you out on Hardy as a novelist of ecological themes. He and
Paul Ehrlich would have adored each other!)
As for the curricular structure that you laid out for us in Tacoma, I find it
exciting, possessed of great intellectual appeal, and wonderfully free of the
dominance of the disciplines. In many ways, it is precisely the kind of
thing that I, socialized as I have been, would thoroughly enjoy, either as a
student or as a faculty member. The model is, of course, Joe Tussman's; and
you may be interested to know that a year ago, just before coming to Olympia
and just after read i ng Experiment at Berkeley, I wrote to Charles, urging
that this academic option be seriously considered as ~ of the alternative
programs of study available at Evergreen.
Having made this point with enthusiasm and in all sincerity, let me get on to
some concerns .
First the program as you outlined it is i ndeed a Tussman derivitive -- if
not pure and undefi led, then modified by only some interesting but minor
impurities and de fil ements. It is worth noting that the dropout rate in
Tussman's own program at Berkeley runs about 55 percent from a highly selfselected population. True, the pressures and the s ources of erosion at the
University of California are considerable and almos t surely more than they
are likely to be around Evergreen. Still, thi s fact, taken together with some
of Tussman's own objective worries about his enterprise, should give us a bit
of pause. As deeply attractive as this option is, it is very probable that
it is suitable for only a fraction -- perhaps a large one but still a fraction
of the undergraduates whom we must serve. Does our proposed arrangement give
us the scope and diversity necessary to permit our accomplishing our mission?
Does it define the only way in which we are going to help students learn how
to learn?
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
August 26, 1970
MEMORANDUM
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To:
President McCann
From:
Joseph Shoben
Subject:
Some reflections on our recent retreat with the Trustees
~
i
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~.o•e
Trying to get my thoughts in order as a :: consequence of our recent get-together
with the _Trustees, I'm setting these reactions down for your consideration. In
general, there are three topics to be touched upon: (a) the general purpose
and nature of our informal meetings with- the Trustees, (b) the nature of our
academic program as it was laid out at the meeting in Tacoma, and (c) the
implications of the way in which our 06 Program was discussed last Wednesday
and Thursday for our overall organization.
PURPOSE AND NATURE OF TRUSTEES' RETREATS
On the first score, I find myself just a little confused as to our objectives
in getting together with the Trustees, just as I am a trifle uncertain about
the extent to which these interactions can best be conceived as an open _debating
society. Although my response here may well be a function of having once been
burned, I really don't care what the ground rules are; I should simply prefer
them to·be clearer than they seem to be. My own inclination is to devote these
sessions to informing the Trustees, to indicating the issues which have not yet
been resolved by the staff and to ask for Trustee inputs to further deliberations,
and to receive any questions that the Trustees may have. When those questions
can be answered, they obviously should be; when they bear on matters that have
not yet been decided and are primarily topics about which staff concensus is
important, then they should, in my judgment, be deferred to a subsequent gettogether. On the other hand, I shan't mind-- and would even welcome -- a freefor-all if it is understood that a free-for-all is looked upon as entirely in
order. I hope that you will agree that either some discussion of this matter is
worthwhile, or that you will simply indicate the ways in which you want these
interchanges conducted. As I have indicated before, my own belief is that our
relationship with the Trustees is one that you should control by virtue of the
fact that you are responsible to them and for the kind of support and contribution that the Trustees make to Evergreen.
OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAM ·
Let me turn now to the presentation of our curriculum as it was laid out in the
Tacoma conciave. I find it exciting, possessed of great intellectual appeal and
wonderfully free of the discipline dominance that I have argued against ever
since we first talked together in Buffalo. In many ways, it is the kind of thing
in .which !,socialized as I have been, would thoroughly enjoy participating, either
as a student or as a faculty member. The model is, of course,_ Joe Tussman's; and
as you may well remember, I wrote to you a year ago, before coming to Olympia,
to recommend Tussman's Experiment at Berkeley and to urge that this curricular
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
November 14, 1969
THE EVER£.~Hi~ STATE COtllECE
M
tlfFICE OF TilE VICE P~fSIOEtH FO:l BuSINESS
E M
o
R A N D
u
H
To:
President McCann and Vice Presidents Shoben, Barry
From:
Bob Barringer
Subject:
Academic Record Keeping
and ~~
During this exciting period of'planning for the College's program, we are constantly
pulled in two directions. We wish to defer final decisions to the last possible
moment in order to allow time for maximum discussion and deepest and best thought
before finally fashioning the matrix within which we will start the college program
in 1971. On the other hand, we wish to have our ideas fixed as early as possible
in order to allow time for fashioning tools to support the decisions finally made.
We wish to wait 'til the very last moment to decide upon an academic program in
order to allow the maximum time for faculty and administration discussion and to
obtain ideas from students as well. On the other hand, when that academic program is detenmined, we hope then to have .a full line of supporting materials-library, audio-visual, laboratory, computational, etc.--to support the program.
This conflict applies equally in the area of keeping records of the stud ents'
academic progress. This memorandum is being written in the hopes that it will
start our thinking along these lines without fashioning the rigid outlines of a
straight-jacket.
An Activity:
I shall define an "activity" in lieu of a "course" for TESC. An
activity is to be a flexible but distinct unit of student involvement in learning
at TESC. An activity may be a two-year course of reading, study, classroom discussion, which may or may not culminate in a distinct paper, final exam, or
creative presentation. On the other hand, an activity may be a two-week period
of seminars and research, or a course of study with audio visual materials. I
believe there will be matural pressures on students and faculty that will tend to
keep the scope of a single activity within reasonable bounds. If an activity is
defined as a very short unit, the reporting and record keeping will become burdensome. On the other hand, if an activity is defined as covering more than a
year, it becomes difficult to identify progress towards a degree. Also, the
definition of the activity, its purpose scope artd the approach taken will tend
to change radically over the life of the contract. These factors will work
against the best interests of both student and faculty. The next two paragraphs
will state the various attributes of an activity. The remainder of this memorandum will discuss each attribute in greater detail.
An activity represents a contract between a student and a faculty member.
It
is student oriented in that it represents a course of study which a student feels
is in his best interests. A faculty member must take responsibility for the
activity and must sign-off on the activity when it is completed. An activity
has a definite beginning and a definite ending when the faculty member signs-off
and the student gets "credit" for accomplishing that activity. The activity may
be participated in by one or more students. An activity must be capable of a
State of Washington
The Evergreen State College
October 13, 1969
MEMORANDUM
To:
President McCann
From:
Executive Vice President Shahen
Subject:
Some thoughts, mostly random, about both buildings and academic
program
This memorandum
some notes that
country. It is
low provocative
is an attempt to bring a very little order into the chaos of
I recorded on a Norelco at various moments as I drove across
quite possible that these thoughts have no value beyond a very
power and the purely abreactive function they provide for me.
First, the lecture hall that our Board recently authorized worries me just a
bit. I think I understand most of its very real advantages, and I am impressed
by its sculptural qualities and by the imagination and talent shown by the
architects in meeting our needs as represented in spite of quite severe budgetary restrictions. Nevertheless, one of my core concerns here is that the
class sizes strike me as precisely wrong. As you will recall, Beardsley Ruml
persuasively pointed out in his old Memo to ~ College Trustee that there are
bvo optimal class sizes--one small enough to permit maximum participation by
all students enrolled, the other large enough for a good lecturer to touch
the maximum number of students interested in his topic. Anything in between
tends to be both uneconomic and uneducative, and construction patterns should
take full account of these observations.
Obviously, put in such an unqualified fashion, these comments are much too
dogmatic to go down convincingly for any of us. Nevertheless, Ruml's costbenefit point is worth attending to: The seating capacities of classroo~s
ought to optimize the conditions under which different instructional techniques
can be used. Groups of fifty, seventy-five, and one-hundred are sufficiently
large to ~ake full-scale discussion difficult, but they are too small to be
lectured to economically. Although I realize that there are many other factors
that enter into the determination of any class's size, I can't escape some
worries about the steps we have taken in planning our lecture hall. They don't
seem properly in phase with either our educational aspirations or our economic
necessities, and I am unpersuaded that curtain walls and other similar devices
would not have enlarged our flexibility.
understandings are less admittedly than assertedly deficient here, but I
have seen large high schools, Michigan State, and public buildings in which
large auditoriums could be partitioned so that several groups could meet in
the~ without an undue sense of rattling around and without being subject to too
much interference by other groups meeting at the same time. Even though it is
not optimal to have groups immediately adjacent to one another, space can be
utilized more efficiently and more flexibly, I think, than we have managed in
the present lecture hall.
~y
Not the least of my concerns here is that we are entirely lacking in an indoor
facility in which large numbers of members of the Evergreen community can get
