Tuesday, August 27, 1968

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Seven


Pcoe Seven

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Community involvement dream realized at Flint


Flint was another objection rais-
ed. However, as French pointed
out, two years later, "the junior
college has a variety of programs
including various technical areas
and nursing. Many of their pro-
Sgrams do not have comparable
Scounterparts at the Flint branch.
In other four year programs, the
demand has been more than suf-
ficient to fill both schools."
COM!MUTING TEACHERS
Another accusation made by the
Legislature was that many of the
faculty members were commuting
to Flint from Ann Arbor. As a
result, it was felt that an inferior.,
grade of instruction was provided
since the best professors could
not afford to leave their work in
order to travel 50 miles twice or
three times a week.
However, the faculty at this time
resides almost entirely in Flint.
Only occasionally, when demands
for a class exceed expectation,
does a teacher commute from
Ann Arbor. The school has a full-
time faculty of 60, most Flint area
residents.
The campus' one building is the
C. S. Mott building, constructed in
1957. Last year a project expand-
ing Mott was completed which
doubled the school's capacity. All
other facilities-library, swimming
pool, field house, and auditorium
{ among them-are shared with the
f Flint Junior College.
s This fall 1200 undergraduate
students are expected to be en-
Srolled as full-time students, with
aproxmiately 1,000 part-time
graduate students.

One of these, The Co-operative
Teacher Education Program, ar-
ranges to combine education and
full-time teaching work.
WORK STUDY
Students enrolled in this pro-
gram spread their work-study over
five years. The firstk s2years are
devoted to study and during the
second half, studentsoccupy full-
time teaching positions.
Another program sponsored by
Flint is the summer abroad study
-this year ir Austria. This pro-
gram allows for students to work
on individual projects rather than
specifically enrolling in a foreign
university, although some stu-
dents do this also for language
study. The students receive reg-
ular colege credit for their work.
Another program involves send-
ing interested junior and senior
psychology, sociology, and educa-
tion students for a semester in
residence at the Merrill Palmer
Institute, a child psychology re-
search foundation in Detroit.
Flint does not plan to separate
from the University organization.
"The University structure is such
that all of the campuses are al-
lowed a great deal of autonomy in
their dealings," French says.
"Plans are almost always initi-
ated by the individual campuses."
He adds that, "there are a
great many administrative and
financial advantages to being part
of the University system."
Almost all Flint faculty mem-
bers in Science and math are in-

volved in research projects in ad-
dition to their teaching duties.
For example, the physics de-
partment received a National Sci-
ence Foundation Grant to develop
a new curriculum for teaching in-
troductory physics.
This is to be useful to other
small and middle-sized colleges
which cannot give separate cur-
ses to students in differing ma-
jors.
Eighteen colleges around the
nation will try out the proposed
curriculum, testing its success in
structuring the course to the dif-
ferent needs and abilities of the
variohs students enrolled.

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Mott Memorial Building (lowe

By ALISON SYMROSKI
Community involvement, that
tenacious dream that spurred a
massive demonstration at Colum-
bia, is becoming a reality at the
University's Flint Campus.
A full four-year college only
since 1965, Flint has already
originated a summer opportunity
program aimed at helping local
high school students with poor
backgrounds prepare for college.
The program, being initiated
for the first time this year, con-
sists of 31 high school seniors who
show high capability but are not
working to capacity. The Flint
program attempts to increase their
motivation to attend college, as
well as increasing their abilities
through remedial work in basic
skills.
RFMEDIAL PROGRAM
The students who choose to take
part in the six week program hear
speakers on how to apply to col-
leges, what financial aids are
available and how to obtain these;
and are taken on visits to various
campuses around the state.,
The program is provided free
of cost to the students and is fi-
nanced by a grant from a local
charitable fund and a matching
grant from the University.
"The students seem quite, en-
thusiastic about the program,"
says Dean David M. French, "they
are reacting quite favorably to it."
"This is not a recruitment pro-
gram," he adds, "but a program
aimed at causing students who or-
dinarily would not 'consider col-
lege to think seriously about con-
tinuing their education.

In addition to this program, the
Flint Campus is also made avail-
able to the general community
through theMott Education Pro-
gram.
This program opens school fa-
cilities to teenagers in the after-
noon and adults in the evenings
for social and academic activities.
Despite these two efforts in the
direction of community respon-
sibility, Flint still lacks a recruit-
ment program for black students
and faculty, although it does take
part in the University's Oppor-
tunity Awards Program.
At present there are no black
faculty members. However, Dean
French says that Flint is "an-
xious to increase the number of
Negroes at the school-both as
students and on the faculty."
Before its conversion to a four
year program, Flint enrolled only
juniors and seniors, 70 per cent
coming from Flint Junior Col-
lege.
FOUR-YEAR PROGRAM
However, the demand for a sen-
ior college was never sufficient
to sustain Flint's enrollment at
the school's capacity. Thus in
1965 the first freshman class,
numbering 170, was admitted.
The expansion of the Flint
Campus from a senior college to
a full, four year program which
took place three years ago, met
considerable opposition from both
Gov. George Romney and the
state Legislature at that time.
"The four year plan should wait
until over-all policy for state edu-
cation is developed," Romney
said. "This must be studied by

r left)
the Blue Ribbon Citizen's Com
mittee and the State Board of
Education before such alterations
are made."
At that time, Romney also said
If state colleges do not co-oper-
ate in the creation of a state plar
for expansion of higher education,
they may face a considerabl3
more centralized method of con-
trol in the future."
LEGISLATORS OBJECT
Some legislators also felt thai
by expanding the Flint Campus,
the University was trying to gair
additional legislative votes-those
of the Flint area.
Because freshmen had alread3
been admitted to the new pro-
gram, before the budget dispute
arose, the Legislature decided tc
provide the money with the stip-
ulation that research begin con-
cerning the possibility of making
the Flint Campus, a four year
autonomous institution.
Possible competition with Flint
Junior College also located ir

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CAMPUS GROWTH
Dean French emphasizes that
Flint "still has room to expand
and will continue to grow."
One aspect of this growth took
place last year when Flint ven-
tured in the area of student hous-
ing, arranging to act as mediator
between students and two apart-
ment houses near campus.
The college puts counselors and
senior student advisors in the
houses. Also, each house forms a
house council, plans social activ-
ities and legislates its own rules
and regulations.
Flint offers the BA degree in
liberal arts and sciences, educa-
tion and business administration.
In addition to the standard course
offerings in these areas, Flint ope-
rates several unique programs.


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Rendezvous is an integral part k 5 °
of the University of Michigan |
orientation program and facili-
tates the University's concern
that you have an additional opportunity to meet and
talk with the actual persons who are the University-
faculty, upperclassmen, other freshmen, grads, and
administrative staff.

Two facully participants in
Rendezvous 1968:

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