Although the entire document is written in the present tense and indicative mood, this is a rhetorical device to bridge two illocutionary acts: expressing an ideal and exhorting everyone to live up to it.
I have used the first-person plural freely in this draft, because I'm directing the exhortations mainly to fellow members of the College community, and repeating `Grinnell College' or `the College' seems stodgy and alienating. On the other hand, I realize that to some ears the repetition of `we' sounds ingratiating to the point of smarminess. It also disguises some trick shuffling between ``we'' as an institution and ``we'' as individuals. It would be pretty easy to recast the whole thing in the third person if people are uncomfortable with it as it is. Let me know what you think.
At the end of the first paragraph, the phrase ``to qualify them for the different professions and for the honorable discharge of the various duties of life'' is a near-quotation from article 3 of the Articles of Association of the Trustees of Iowa College, June 17, 1847, with one change (`them' replaces the words `young men' in the original).
If the allusion seems anticlimactic, stylistically jarring, or elitist, we can easily come up with a different way to finish the paragraph. Perhaps I'm excessively charmed with the neatness of echoing the 1847 mission statement.
I deliberately chose to attach the allusion with `so as' rather than using a construction expressing purpose, such as `in order to'. I'm suggesting, I hope, that being qualified for a profession is less a goal of liberal education than a natural consequence of it. Perhaps this is a little too subtle.
These principles are very, very loosely adapted from the ``Definition of values'' developed by five students, six staff members and administrators, and four faculty members in 1998 to accompany and explicate the ``Core values of Grinnell College'' statement. I have sliced and diced in order to give greater emphasis to principles that distinguish Grinnell from other colleges and universities and to eliminate some redundancy. Feel free to suggest additions and deletions.
Although I think that the order in which I've presented the principles is a natural one, I'm not wedded to it -- again, feel free to suggest alternatives.
I've stated the principles bluntly and concisely, without going into the rationale for each one, in the hope that at least some of the trustees will read the list all the way to the end. There is a strong argument for adopting the opposite style, integrating the principles with a history of the College and of the evolution of its educational philosophy and values. That would be harder to write, but the result would be more interesting, more instructive, and probably more beautiful. Again, let me know what you think, especially if you're willing to draft the beautiful version.
I've stated the intended effects of a Grinnell education on our students' intellects in negative terms -- ``to help them free themselves from the bonds of ignorance, habit, prejudice, superstition, and apathy'' -- because the words for the affirmative correlates have become clichés. I thought of adding a principle that would cover the same ground more affirmatively. If we use language derived from the ``Definition of values,'' it would look like this:
Creative and critical thinking. We promote creative thinking in all areas, as well as analytical thinking, clear written and oral expression, the formation and testing of hypotheses, and the construction of valid arguments.
Here's my attempt at a less mechanical version that describes the goal more positively and directs more attention to the ends and less to the means. This version would perhaps be better as a closing paragraph, after the list of principles, than as one of a dozen principles.
Our goal is to graduate men and women of great intellectual ability, character, and autonomy; who are knowledgeable, yet curious and open-minded; who think critically, proportioning their beliefs to the quality of the supporting evidence and reasoning; who write and speak clearly, fluently, logically, and persuasively; who try always to act wisely and humanely, on the basis of sound and perspicacious judgement, a sympathetic understanding of the values and perspectives of others, and close attention to relevant facts and principles; and who, when in positions of authority, apply their powers not in their own interest, narrowly defined, but for the benefit of all.
The draft doesn't mention either class size or the ratio of faculty size to the size of the student body. Perhaps we should state our insistence on keeping classes small as a principle.
Grinnell is a selective college, and we do a better job of educating students who are capable, strongly motivated, and well prepared when they arrive here. It's at least arguable that the mission statement should contain some kind of a signal of this selectivity. My view is that first paragraph already sends the signal without being obnoxiously explicit about it.
One of my frequently expressed notions is that Grinnell College is, and should be, a world-class gadfly farm. I have here managed to restrain my enthusiasm for making this the centerpiece of the mission statement, since (despite some support for it in the on-line discussion group) I'm not very confident that the community shares it.
Similarly, though I still hold the views about telemarketing, intercollegiate athletics, and so on that I expressed in ``An excellent liberal-arts college,'' I recognize that the mission statement is not the right forum in which to present them.
Having gone public with a draft, I resolved to give people a few days to comment on it before making any changes at all. Nevertheless, I've noticed some things that could be improved. This section contains tweaks that I propose to make in the next revision.
In the paragraph headed ``The primacy of learning and teaching,'' change `the primary responsibility' to `the first responsibility'.
In the paragraph headed ``Respect for diversity,'' some of the differences that we respect are identified by singular nouns, others by plurals. Change all the plurals to singulars (`origin', `legacy', `orientation', `system').
To comment on the proposed mission statement or to contribute to these notes, send e-mail to stone@cs.grinnell.edu.
This document is available on the World Wide Web as
http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/~stone/mission-statement/tulip-notes.xhtml
created March 21, 2001
last revised October 21, 2001