The College as a Philanthropy

Hi all,
I've been missing lately from the blog as I've been focusing recently on my job, and I'm working to catch up. 

I was reading the Chronicle of Higher Education tonight, and the last article of the paper was truly interesting, inspiring, idealistic, and, more to the point, relevant to our class.  It was an opinion piece written by Dick Merriman, the president of Southwestern College in Kansas.  Dr. Merriman posits that college is a philanthropy - that as such, students are not customers, and they are not commodities.  They are being given a gift - the gift of an education worth more than they are paying, and worth more than they can afford, and the opportunity to work with people who truly care about them.

He makes an argument that students are not consumers, that college is not a business.  He uses the example that anyone can go into a McDonald's and they will sell you a Big Mac if you have the money to buy it.  However, not just anyone can go to his college and buy an education.  I especially liked the wit of the following paragraph:

"What I'm trying to say is that you [the student] may believe you are here because you chose this college.  And it is true, of course, that you have something to say about which college you attend.  But it is more relevant, and truer, to say that you are here because we chose you.  You certainly wouldn't be here otherwise." 

If that was all he has written, it might have come off as arrogant, but he also adds this:  "Because the college is a philanthropy, because we are committeed to your growth and development, because we love you, you are permitted to make mistakes here, you are permitted to be confused here, and you are permitted to change your mind and change your plans here.  What you are not permitted to do here is waste our time.  Because we have made an investment in you.  Because we chose you to receive a fabulous gift.  All we ask of you is that you honestly make your best effort to capitalize on this opportunity.....We owe you our very best efforts, in instruction, in our campus-life programs, in the residence halls, in everything we do."

I find that I like Dr. Merriman's perspective.  Feel free to check out the entire article at:  http://chronicle.com/article/The-College-as-a-Philanthropy/125176/