In this editorial in today's Rockford Register Star, it's reported that Richard Kneedler, interim president of Rockford College, told the paper's editorial board this week that the college is scaling back its emphasis on the legacy of famed social reformer Jane Addams, the school's most celebrated alumna.
Kneedler is paraphrased to the effect that Addams is being de-emphasized in favor of a more forward-looking theme at the college. You know, the focus is on tomorrow, not yesterday. Ever onward and all that stuff.
The Rascal, a great admirer of Addams, isn't buying Kneedler's excuse. Rather, I can't help but sense that the school -- perhaps at the bidding of certain alumni -- is unseemly eager to retreat from the homage it paid Addams under the presidency of Paul Pribbenow, who left Rockford last year to take the reins at a college in Minnesota.
Jane Addams was a radical reformer whose writings, speeches and political activities made many of her contemporaries uncomfortable and apparently prompted her alma mater to almost completely ignore her for decades after her death.
Pribbenow reversed that course during his four years at Rockford and sought to promote Addams and her legacy of activism as an inspiration to students and faculty.
And now his efforts are being undone.
I'd like to be disabused of these suspicions, but I doubt that will happen.
Too bad.
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3 comments:
Pat,
From what I could see, Pribbenow was happy to use Jane Addams for advertising and to inspire a few students to do good in the community, but that was about as far as it went. I tried for years to interest anybody at the college in starting a modern day Hull House in Rockford but got exactly zero interest from the college, including Pribbenow.
Think about it, Rockford College has an education and a nursing program, the music academy, a youth tutoring program and a nice gymnasium and pool. You would think they could set up summer day camps for kids from Rockford's projects. Or buy a part of the old college property on Morgan Street, set up a Hull House, and make it a requirement for students in the education and nursing programs to volunteer some time there. They could recruit additional tutors and the teachers from the music academy could do group lessons. I thought, and still do, that they would have attracted alumni donors for a project like that, but I never saw a shred of interest from the college.
If you are interested in honoring Jane Addams I know of an individual that is trying to start a Jane Addams Village down by Morgan Street. I could put you in touch with him. He could use the help, he's not getting much in the way of interest from anyone either.
Pribbenow talked a great game, but that was about it.
Mike: I've already talked with the guy trying to start a Jane Addams village. Thanks.
Hull House is on the campus of the University of Illinois Chicago. Whatever leverage this can provide certainly would be better realized where it took place, not with the individual who never utilized her radicalism at Rockford College. Pribbenow likes to see himself as a radical--the Chris Hedges debacle would be an example--however, his Mr. Peepers visage belies the effort.
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