Beloit College Magazine
Beloit College Magazine
Fall 2000 Contents
Departments
Features
- Underwater Archaeology
- Hearing the Meanings of Words
- Kerouac for Grown-ups
- A Race to the Starting Line
- "Don't rain! Don't rain!"
- Taking Theatre to the Streets
- Beloit in Africa
- A Paintbrush at the Front
- Saving the Turtles
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Strengths and Opportunities
I
am writing to you at the close of 75 days as
the head of an extraordinary institution, a college with special and very personal meaning
to each of us.
In this period of slightly more than two months, I have welcomed back to the campus
members of the 50th reunion class—the class that entered Beloit in 1946. I have also
welcomed the newest members of the Beloit family—my first-year classmates in the class of
2004—who will eventually form the golden anniversary class of 2054. Looking back and
looking forward, I have sensed a century of the College’s history before me in the Chapel
in the course of just a few weeks—it is both overwhelming and wonderful.
Sally and I have been warmly welcomed by the College and by the community, here in Beloit
and at gatherings in Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Rockford, and in cyberspace. I have
particularly appreciated the understanding that, while I know something about Beloit,
it would be presumptuous at this early point to address a vision for the institution.
Nevertheless, I have begun to develop an appreciation of the strengths of this place and,
in so doing, have come to several conclusions about what needs to be done next.
First as to strengths. As a residential liberal arts college, we are committed to small
class sizes and experiential learning, cornerstones of the Beloit experience and clearly
successful elements of good education. Students have an opportunity to interact with
professors and peers in intimate settings, where ideas are freely shared, professors openly
questioned, and where dialogue abounds.
Experiential learning is based on the belief that we all learn through our experiences.
In these reinforcing experiences, our students learn both the material and how to learn
the material. Our students remember how to repeat the process again when confronted with
a different set of challenges or questions.
Another initial impression of the strength of this College comes from the sense of
community. Students help each other, faculty work together, administration and support
staff are here to make this the best possible place to work. There is a sense of vitality
and energy. An International Poetry Festival filled Richardson Auditorium as student poets
recited their work and that of poets from their countries. Africa Week rose directly from
the faculty who conceived of the idea and organized it. Beloit is constantly reborn as new
students and new ideas invade the campus. It is truly a place where students can invent
themselves, try something different and graduate feeling changed.
Now for the future. My first goal for the College is to develop a strategic plan. I want
to involve a broad spectrum of members of the community in mapping out the future of the
College. Difficult decisions will need to be made to prioritize the future direction for
Beloit; however we will remain true to our strong liberal arts focus. We need to establish
clearly what makes Beloit special and to emphasize our strengths—whether they be in
international studies or in a specific department or in our inter-disciplinary approaches.
We have a strong base upon which to build. The College is in good shape financially: we
have the largest class of first year students in several years. We have the fantastic
commitment of our alumni worldwide.
The class of 1950 related at their recent reunion how important Beloit College had been
and continues to be in their lives. The College today may not be the same as it was when
they first arrived, nor will it be the same when the class of 2004 returns for its 50th
reunion, but I am confident that we will continue to serve our primary mission in just as
committed a fashion. We are here to educate, we are here to teach students how to learn.
With such skills, the opportunities for a fulfilling life will continue to be limitless
for our graduates.
In my initial weeks here, I have enjoyed meeting hundreds of alumni, parents, and other
friends of the college who have visited the campus. Whatever your affiliation with Beloit,
I hope you will return often and that you will share your views. My email address is
burrisj@beloit.edu and I look forward to hearing
from you.
— John E. Burris
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