Three Schools

It was quite a day… I visited with people at 3 different schools today, all within an hour’s drive of each other.

My day began with a visit to Reed College, rated by the Princeton Review as one of the “best educational programs” in the country, yet with “the least religious” student body. My work was cut out for me. Due to an ISI faculty member at Reed, I was put in touch with someone in the administration there, who works with the public affairs side of things. I introduced him to all of ISI’s programs – highlighting our fellowships and honors program, and our College Guide and Student’s Guide. He seemed very receptive. He said Reed is a “strange place.” They have “probably the most conservative curriculum in the country,” but the student and faculty population lean pretty Left. And, they’re seen as “God-less” by the likes of Princeton University, an image he hopes to change in the eyes of the public.

Next stop… was to probably one of the more religious schools in the country, certainly in Oregon… George Fox University. I met with an ISI Faculty Associate there, who teaches politics. He was very happy to see me and share with me the many positive aspects at George Fox University, a school that boasts such notable alumni, as President Herbert Hoover – they’re “claim to fame” as one student put it. This professor had told some students I would be coming by and about 10 or 12 of them came to hear my presentation on ISI. For those of them that were not yet members, they signed up… and everyone learned what I had to say about all of ISI’s programs. Perhaps I encouraged them a bit more to take advantage of our offerings. They seemed very “hungry” for more involvement and they were happy to talk to me about the different programs ISI offers. They were very good kids, with a lot of great questions.

Next stop… Willamette University. The State Chair of the Oregon Federation of College Republicans, John Swanson, attends Willamette University, “the first university in the West.” It was founded by Methodists who wanted to preach to the heathen Indian population. Anyway… I was the guest speaker at the College Republican chapter meeting at Willamette… about 10-12 students attended the meeting and all who were not members (I think only one or two already were), signed up for ISI membership and hopefully they were encouraged to get more involved with ISI. They seemed very excited about our lecture program and the honors program.

One pattern I keep seeing is that all these people seem so excited to have someone from ISI on their campus… I guess things are different out here, compared to the east coast where there are so many lectures and things. The students realize how far I had to come to reach their campus and they really appreciate the outreach to them. Also, out here, people just seem friendlier and more laid back and so that may contribute to the positive reception as well, but it’s nice to hear.

So far, after 2 days of my 13-day trip… the mission is moving forward. The outreach effort I hoped for is taking shape and more people are hearing about ISI who otherwise would not of. I always say, “If I can reach just one student, my mission is a success.” I think we’ve gone beyond the one student in just 2 days and reached many students, faculty, and even administrators. I think from top to bottom, people are thirsty for a real educational experience and for the opportunity to dive into the world of ideas.