Welcome to the Class of 2010
William Coulter, Dean of the College

The following remarks were made by Dean Coulter in an address to new students on August 22, 2006.

Our Interim President, Ginger Hill Worden ’69, is absent from campus this week. She regrets that very much. Many months ago, long before she had any idea that she would become our Interim President, her daughter planned a wedding for this Saturday, and so Ginger is in Rhode Island for that happy occasion. She is looking forward to meeting as many of you new students as possible, and I can promise you that you will enjoy the experience: she is personable, charming, bright, and articulate.

My name is William Coulter; I am professor of English and Dean of the College. I’m not here to talk about myself, but, given what I have to say, I do think it’s important that you know what my credentials are. I am beginning my 30 th year at the College; I am married to a graduate, class of ’71; my father-in-law was once a member of the Board of Trustees; I live across the street from the College and used front campus as a playground for my children when they were small. A colleague of mine in the English department was an alumna and taught here for 35 years; since she retired last Spring, I submit that there is no one on campus whose institutional roots go deeper than mine do.

Let me tell you what I’ve observed during the 29 years I’ve been here. I have watched shy students bloom, and brilliant ones soar. I have been proud to be a part of a culture which expects great things from students and which gives them the support they need. I have been proud to be at a teaching-centered College, where students and faculty form close relationships which in many cases endure for decades. Time after time, I have watched my faculty colleagues listen carefully, ask just the right individual question, and frame an assignment that’s fitted to a student’s particular interests. Again and again, I have seen my colleagues agree to supervise an independent study, even in semesters when they were already quite busy. I recently received an e-mail from a Prime Time graduate of ’99 who included the following P.S.: “I still tell people about the summer you put together a reading list for me and set aside time to discuss the reading. Thank you.” I mention this not to toot my own horn but just to give you some idea of the educational philosophy of the institution.

None of that is going to change. The word on everyone’s lips this week is “coed,” and I want to assure you that, if the Board accepts the strategic plan drafted by the steering committee, the College’s educational philosophy will not change. It will still be what one of my English department colleagues happily called “education in the singular.” There will still be lots of one-on-one conversations in faculty offices; it will still be our goal to ask the right question for the individual at that moment. This will still be true, even if some of those individuals are men.

If you would like more information about the strategic planning process, its background and extent, and answers to FAQs, I hope you will look at the college’s website. The Strategic Plan is leading the homepage; you can’t miss it.

Now let me say something about the recruitment process which has brought you here. Some of you feel that you have been sold a bill of goods, that the College has not been honest with you. I assure you that this is a charge we take very seriously, not least because our student-run Honor System is one of the glories of this institution and we certainly want to live up to our own standards. There are two factors which have been in play during 2005-06. One is that the strategic planning process, and specifically the coed issue, has been in the news off and on since a letter went out from the President of the Board in the Fall of 2005, and thus some prospective students have asked about what might happen; our admissions counselors have tried to answer all such questions honestly. A problem for them, as for much of the rest of the campus, is that until about six weeks ago, many remained skeptical that the steering committee would recommend the change to coeducation. It seemed very remote and very unlikely, and thus not something that there was any reason to bring forward. I know that these two reasons will not be enough to satisfy some of you, and if you still feel that you have been misled, I can only offer a sincere and profound apology on the part of the College.

To return to what I mentioned a few minutes ago, if your daughters are willing to take advantage of what the College has to offer, they will find themselves in a place where they have the opportunity to experience dramatic growth—intellectual, personal, and cultural. I welcome them, and you, to the campus; I encourage them, and you, to be open-minded critical thinkers, good listeners, and accurate judges of what the College makes available to you; and I extend every good wish to the Class of 2010.