MR. HILTON'S PHI BETA KAPPA ADDRESS
In the last number of the Magazine reference was made to the address of H. H. Hilton '90 at the annual dinner of the Phi Beta Kappa society. It was then hoped that the address might be printed in full this month for the benefit of the alumni at large, but that has not proved feasible.
The subject of Mr. Hilton's speech was "War Lessons for the Colleges." After reviewing in detail the position of the colleges during the war, he proceeded to draw specific conclusions as to the permanent changes that are to result from the experience. The first general lesson is that the student of the future must be challenged by the glimpse of a definite goal which will bring about a quickening of effort and the eliminating of all that is waste. The contracts between the government and the colleges will show the latter that in most cases their institutions need to be conducted by more thoroughgoing business methods. Boards of trustees should be limited in number, should be chosen from the alumni whereever this is feasible and two prerequisites should be a college degree or its equivalent, and leisure and willingness to serve. The Educational Department of the S. A. T. C. marked the beginning of a much needed standardizing of the colleges under the authority of a centralized governing body — either the Association of American Colleges, a Federal Board, or an authorized committee of educators. Through his experience of military discipline, the undergraduate will have learned a greater subordination of self and a deeper feeling of responsibility to others, a responsibility that does not end with his college days but extends to his state, his country, and humanity. College curricula will be made more elastic, and college entrance requirements more flexible; no subject will be allowed to maintain itself by artificial stimulus, but only by its indubitable intrinsic value. Greater attention will be paid to personal hygiene as a result of the military regime, and compulsory exercise will be followed up. Many colleges will retain the military courses introduced during the war. The plan of dividing the year into four quarters, eliminating the long summer vacation, is sure to have a growing acceptance as one of the lessons in conservation. College teachers will demand and receive greater freedom and larger salaries, life tenures of office will be abolished, and the general caliber of the teaching profession will be enlarged. Greater endowments for private institutions will be sought and obtained, to enable them to hold their own with the rapidly growing state universities and technical schools.
This resume is a mere outline of the main points made by Mr. Hilton. If it proves possible at a later date to do so, his address will be published in full.
