President Docking Gives Sesquicentennial State of the College posted 3/27/09
“Seeing the Future: Preparing Students for the Next 150 Years”

ADRIAN, Mich. - Adrian College President Jeffrey R. Docking reflected on the College’s 150th anniversary and proposed new ideas in “Seeing the Future: Preparing Students for the Next 150 Years”, his Sesquicentennial State of the College Address, presented today (Friday) in the Adrian Tobias Room on campus.

Docking opened his address by thanking congressional and local leaders in attendance: Senator Cameron Brown, Eddie Visco on behalf of Representative Mark Schauer, Jim Van Doren (Chair of the Lenawee County Board of Commissioners) and Greg DuMars mayor pro-term for the City of Adrian. He thanked the men for their thoughtful proclamations in which they presented honoring the College’s 150th anniversary on behalf of the city, county, state and nation.

He called today a “historic day” and reflected on the importance of the sesquicentennial.

“Never before and never again will we find ourselves at this important crossroads in our history,” said Docking. “The sesquicentennial marks a clear dividing line between what was and what will be, what we remember and what we anticipate, what we have accomplished in the past 150 years and what we plan to achieve in the years ahead. This is indeed a moment in time that should be celebrated.”

Docking then spent some time discussing the poor economic conditions throughout the state of Michigan as well as the nation. He talked about how even though current times are tough, Adrian College is persevering

“Not since The Great Depression of 1929 have our graduates stepped into a future of greater economic uncertainty,” said Docking. “We have been able to sail through these rough waters because we have a sound business plan that requires accountability and measures results. We also have dedicated employees who work hard to create a great College. But our enrollment and fundraising growth and prosperity should not fool any of us into thinking that we can forever stand outside the market forces that have plunged our world into a global recession. We are not insulated from the world economy.”

Docking then focused the majority of his speech on how the College must change to better prepare its students for success and to educate the way to a better nation. He discussed the need to closely examine all of the undergraduate programs to ensure that they are truly meeting the needs of a quickly changing marketplace.

Some of the changes he proposed include moving the College’s journalism minor to a major course of study in which they will offer journalism for a multimedia platform where students learn how to write for the web, for all new technologies, for podcasting, webcasting, broadcasting, etc.

President Docking commented on how the College also needs to restructure the pre-law program to keep up with the changing dynamics in society.

“They will learn that the study and practice of law is about adaptability,” said Docking. “The law will always have to react to social, economic and political circumstances as seen in growth areas such as Green Technology and its impact on environmental and technology law as well as the aging population boom and Elder Law.”

He also talked about implementing a business curriculum focusing on sales as “salesmen and saleswomen are far and away the most difficult employees to find in business.”

For the remainder of his speech, Docking discussed the importance of creating “creative” students and challenging them in and outside the classroom.

“Our emphasis should be to graduate students who are creative thinkers and who are nimble, agile, dexterous and quicker than all the rest to adapt to change,” said Docking. “Our students should be opportunistic and visionary, able to see what is coming and to adjust their thinking and their behavior faster than those not looking to the horizon.”

He applauded the professors who already promote this creative edge and encourage all others to do the same.

“Not only should we promote creativity but we should continue recent efforts to expand our experiential learning opportunities,” said Docking. “This means getting our students out of the traditional classrooms to the real places where new types of learning can happen.”

During his address Docking also touched upon an idea proposed in his 2008 State of the College-the implementation and development of institutes. He talked about how two of these institutes are already up and running: The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Institute for Health Studies.

The newest institute which will start at the College this summer is The Institute for Ethics. Dr. Fritz Detwiler, professor of philosophy and religion will head up this initiative as the institute’s director.

“As a private institution, we can teach ethics, we can teach religion; we can debate the great spiritual issues of our time without fear of crossing church/state boundaries,” said Docking. “As a College founded 150 years ago in the Christian tradition, with Methodist roots and an abolitionist president, we must continue to embrace the importance of teaching ethics and values. It is not only a comparative advantage to other institutions; it is the right thing to do. Students need to be taught ethics and values and this institution should be at the forefront of this effort.”

Docking also stated that The Institute for Study Abroad is also being developed. This institute is consistent with his message of creativity and learning outside the classroom.

The address ended with the biggest idea yet to come to the College-the offering of graduate programs. Some departments being considered for graduate programs include education, athletic training, criminal justice, business and communication arts and sciences.

“While I am not prepared today to announce the advent of any one single graduate program, as all five programs are currently under review, you can be sure that in a very short period of time the administration will announce the first graduate programs at Adrian College in over 30 years to begin in the fall of 2010,” said Docking.

He said that the programs will be selected based on the best fit with the College’s campus culture, the strength of their current program and whether or not they will provide positive cash flow for the institution. He stated that this new development will be exciting in the growth and expansion of Adrian College.

“It will attract a new and dynamic population of students to our campus and it will lift the College to a higher level of academic excellence and respect,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of keeping up with society and educating its students as constant changes take place.

“Change is not only the operative word in the White House, but it is clearly the path we must take to continue to enhance our College,” said Docking. “These changes are profound but they are necessary and we should be excited about all that they will offer to our students.”

The State of the College is an annual tradition on the Adrian College campus usually taking place on or around the College’s anniversary and Founder’s Day of March 28.

Original Press Release Announcing State of the College

President Docking to Give Sesquicentennial State of the College Address
posted 3/24/09
Seeing the Future: Preparing Students for the Next 150 Years

ADRIAN, Mich. – This year marks the 150th anniversary or sesquicentennial of Adrian College. The College continues to soar even through the current economic conditions and no one is blind to its success.

On Friday, March 27, at 12:15 P.M. in the Adrian Tobias Room, during his annual State of the College Address, President Jeffrey R. Docking will reflect upon the anniversary as well as discuss plans for the College’s future.

“This year’s sesquicentennial encourages us to pause and reflect with amazement at all this small College has endured to continue its mission to educate students,” said President Docking. “While celebrating our past, we are also using this 150th year to re-imagine our future and to make plans to create an ever greater educational institution that will thrive for many more years.”

The State of the College is an annual tradition on the Adrian College campus usually taking place on or around the College’s anniversary and Founder’s Day of March 28.

The public and press are invited to attend the State of the College Address. Mark your calendars to either attend in person, read or listen to the speech that afternoon on the Adrian College web site at www.adrian.edu . (Audio and print versions of the speech will be available on the College web site after 2 P.M. on the day of the address.)

In addition to the speech, a reception will take place immediately following in the Adrian Tobias Room. President Docking will be available during this time for Q & A.

The public and campus community are also invited to an open house of the newly remodeled Rush Hall which now hosts the communication arts & sciences department.
The million dollar renovation was recently completed and includes high tech and state-of-the-art TV and radio stations, editing and sound labs and additional classroom space. The open house will begin immediately following President Docking’s speech and will be open until 2:30 P.M.

In addition, to commemorate the sesquicentennial, an exhibit set up by students in Dr. Stephanie Jass’ history 299 class, will be on display in the Marketplace Annex (new addition of Ritchie). The exhibit “Myths, Mischief and Mahan: A Closer Look at Adrian College through the Years” will be open to the public on Friday, March 27, from 10 A.M. to noon; and 1-4 P.M.

The Adrian Tobias Room is adjacent to Ritchie Marketplace (dining hall). A campus map is available online. Further information may be obtained by contacting Ashley Lee in the Adrian College Office of Public Relations at 517-264-3175 or via e-mail at alee@adrian.edu.