Dear Dickinsonians:

I write to introduce you to an article about Dickinson College that appears in Change: The Magazine Of Higher Learning. David Kirp's "Mindshare and the Life of the Mind: A Liberal Arts College Finds Its Market Niche," describes the college as a "success story" and depicts how Dickinson has, in recent years, shored up its reputation "without undermining its academic integrity." The article can be read and responded to at this web site.

It is in the September/October 2003 issue of Change and is adapted from Kirp's book due out this fall, Shakespeare, Einstein, and the Bottom Line: The Marketing Of Higher Education (Harvard University Press). Kirp, professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, also wrote about Dickinson a year ago in The American Prospect.

That Dickinson is being featured regularly in national publications like Change and The American Prospect--pieces which are based on student and faculty accomplishments and which forward our institutional initiatives in higher education--was a part of my intention when I returned here in 1999 as president. I told our community that I intended to increase the national and international reputation and profile of the college by illuminating our distinctive history, mission, academic programs and the accomplishments of faculty, students and alumni. I predicted that our success would attract scrutiny by the media and the scholarly community to a degree previously unknown in Dickinson's long history. Well, the national and international press are in contact with us now on an almost daily basis.

Such substantive coverage is a privilege and a natural part of our advancement. But it also stimulates a wide variety of commentary-some positive, some negative. Some articles provide fair and accurate information, while others do not. Therefore, readers must analyze the text carefully, ask probing questions and seek other data and opinions to deduce the truth. Frequent subjects of media analysis are presidents and deans. Such scrutiny should take no president or dean by surprise, since they are the primary voices of an institution.

I do wish to comment, as well, on one particular aspect of the Change article. The author describes how the financial pressures Dickinson faced in the mid- to late-1990s had a destructive impact on key areas, such as admissions, financial aid and fundraising. He targets some characteristics of students accepted to the college, noting what he perceives-and substantiates-to be a steady decline in U.S. News &World Report-type credentials. These include SAT scores and high-school rank. Dickinson has always recognized prospective students' individual qualities and potential, apart from the traditional college selectivity factors-and has not been disappointed. Our graduates, including, of course, those from the mid- to late-1990s, achieve in all types of endeavors.

Indeed, our recent successes have, in many ways been built on the shoulders of these young alumni. During the 1990s, for example, our faculty created and students pioneered new areas of rigorous study such as International Business &Management and Community Studies. Students won an array of national academic prizes, including Fulbrights and Howard Hughes fellowships. Since leaving campus, they have been high achievers in their jobs, communities, graduate and professional schools. As alumni, they are steady volunteers and significant donors to the college; they work with faculty, students, staff and other alumni to ensure that the college constantly improves and gains recognition.

As we stay the course as a distinctively American liberal-arts undergraduate college of high accomplishment, creativity and contribution, you will see Dickinson in the press, on the airwaves and on the Internet. Success naturally invites scrutiny, which is healthy and welcome. I leave the deliberate, thoughtful analysis of these commentaries to your good minds, honed well by a Dickinson liberal-arts education. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have comments about the Change article.

As always,

Bill Durden '71
billd@dickinson.edu