University of Virginia Library

Think Big, Think Small

(16) I do not see why difference should mean either of
these things, but neither should we reject these extremes out
of hand. Frank experimentation is not unheard of in
publicly-financed higher education. The College at Old
Westbury in the State University of New York system is one
example, having been funded not only once but twice, after
the first experiment circa 1969 was by common consent a
failure (my source is John Maguire, the new president, from
his report at last year's SRHE meeting—see also the September
1971 Harper's). And we ought also to keep in mind that mere
"cosmetic" changes are sometimes more important than people
think. As a very low-level and disgusting example, consider the
impact on workers that the simple addition of piped-in Muzak
is demonstrated to have, and the remarkable effect that minor
refurbishing of dorms has had at such places as MIT (College
Management magazine, September 1971).

(17) It seems to me sensible that we begin to define our
difference between Birdwood and the Grounds by turning for
a moment to the faculty. For they will need inducement too,
unless I vastly misjudge my colleagues. I am assuming that for
some two to three thousand students in a "residential college"
or "cluster" of colleges there must be at least a couple of
dozen faculty members in residence (For each college of 600
students, the University of California at Santa Cruz plans a
resident provost and 12 resident faculty.) I am not arguing
that the University should provide them free housing or that
residence on a permanent basis should be sought by any
faculty member, but it does seem reasonable that the
University provide self-amortizing housing for at least a core of
faculty, and that conditions be devised that make it attractive
for a variety of faculty—young, older, single, married,
members of various disciplines—to spend terms of one, two,
perhaps in some cases three or four years in residence there,
giving of themselves in a much more intensive and extensive
way than they do in their present situation on the Grounds.

(18) Obviously I tend to oppose the idea of an independent
faculty at Birdwood, with no connection to the departments
on the Grounds, though I know this is the plan at certain other
places, such as the "university college" proposed at
Massachusetts. Partly my objection is merely intuitive, but also
it seems to me that one way quickly to petrify a new
undergraduate college is to appoint a permanent staff, even
one made up of "stars." Moreover, few teachers and their
families can stand the pressure of year after year of intense
community living, and we should not pretend otherwise.