Day 9 - Liberal Arts Institutions in CA

Day 9 

We woke up in Torrance after having spent our first day in LA with Will and Brenda and Michael for the 4th.  This was truly a day to strike out and start to navigate big, bad, sprawling LA and environs.  The 405, the 10, carmageddon, smog checks (?!), what in the world?  Little did we know that we were headed to two small, gentile towns all their own...Orange and Whittier.  Small, liberal arts colleges tucked away here, we first drove to Chapman University in Orange.  Off the highway, we found an honest to goodness Main street, angled parking, and little homegrown shops that lead us to the university.  A campus of about 6000, Chapman is manicured and sparkly.  Busts of famous Americans are everywhere, as well as banners exclaiming their 150th celebration.  A huge "scoreboard" like monitor is in the main part of campus with messages, photos of students, and even reminders to giving to things like...the annual fund!!!! gasp.  We were there on a quest to meet Guilford grad Dr. Don Gabard '69, professor in the Department of Physical Therapy.  Don was gracious enough to meet us between meetings and classes that morning so we trekked over to the department's new building down Palm St.  Don, a Winston-Salem native, has been in LA for 30 years - a native by these standards.  He was an English and Biology major at Guilford and had much to say in support of a liberal arts education.  Don teaches only doctoral level students but is a proponent of the liberal arts and talked about how the best indicator of success in his program is the GPA in general studies vs. the student's GPA in the sciences.  He is currently doing a long-term study on the effects of graduate school (medicine and law) on student empathy levels.  Fascinating.  We had a wonderful visit with Don.  He did not hesitate when asked if he would consider being a resource to our Sport Studies and Sciences faculty members.  Not at all a surprising reaction from a Guilford!

Lunch in the local downtown drugstore soda shop and we were off to the next highway to find Whittier College.

Ah Whittier - your campus newspaper is called "Quaker Campus!"  "QC" is spray painted everywhere.  Your mascot, ol' Johnny Poet (for John Greenleaf Whitter) looks like our Quaker Man's cousin in purple and gold.  "Fear the Poet?"  Well, I'm sorry but you don't compare to our Fighting Quaker, and sadly, I fear you have lost your Quaker way.  Your campus folks were so quick to say that you are no longer affiliated with "the Quaker Church."  You seem disconnected from even your very street names "Earlham, Philadelphia, Friends Way, and oh my goodness, Guilford street!"  Too bad and what is the real Johnny Poet thinking now...  Oh well, your campus is gorgeous and your interdisciplinary emphasis and paired classes impressive but where is your commitment to service, your familiarity with the Bonner program, your push for study away and abroad, your experiential learning?  I daresay for the pricetag you mentioned, I should be standing on the corner giving out Guilford flyers!  (Ok, ok, I am slightly, just the teeniest bit biased, but wow.)  

Whitter, the campus and the town, is very pretty.  Small town feel in a big town world.  With a main street and rugged mountain top nearby, you could trick yourself into feeling like you were not in a big metro area.  I'm glad we got to see this place I've often wondered about.  Good to see what similar sized, liberal arts schools are doing.  Can I tell you that every time I investigate (maybe it is snooping), my confidence and pride level goes up a notch or two in Guilford College?

I tried to find the Alumni Relations folks in the beautiful Mendenhall building.  I walked into their office to find doors open, sweaters on backs of chairs, computer monitors on, but not a living sole to be seen.  This also happened when I walked into their Alumni House - door open, walked in, not one person to be found.  

"Entire Alumni Relations Staff abducted by aliens" or "off trying to find their Quaker way!"  I helped myself to as many of their flyers and pamphlets as I could find, as I'm sure they were placed there for me to share, and left my card on someone's desk - "greetings colleagues, sorry I missed you."  I wonder if they were surprised to find there is a Guilford College?