 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Funny... I don't feel dead!
|
If you've forgotten JMC - You weren't there!
|
1965
|
|
|
|
1979
|
 |
|
An academy for wandering minstrels
|
|
Equipping lifelong learners to pursue personal and professional interests in art, activism, law, education, business, medicine, international affairs, social services, science, management, media, and more.
|
|
 |
|
* Michigan State University's first, most experimental, and most innovative residential college *
|
|
|
THE JUSTIN MORRILL COLLEGE CONCEPT
|
|
Justin Morrill College was as much an educational concept as an organizational entity per se.
Conceived in response to ideas first developed in the late 1950's on "The Future of the University", JMC was to serve as a testbed for innovative ideas in undergraduate education.
This WWW page is an attempt to summarize the "JMC Concept" -- i.e., that set of themes upon which the college was founded and with which its operations were guided.
|
|
|
RELEVANT MATERIAL ELSEWHERE:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Key Elements of the JMC Concept
This section offers a listing of the 'key elements' (themes, issues, etc.) invoked to characterize the nature and the goals of the Justin Morrill College experience. These are listed in no particular order, and no prioritization or emphasis is intended to be portrayed.
|
|
|
Lifelong Learning
-
"Life of Inquiry"
-
"Continuous Learning"
|
The learning skills taught at JMC were intended to support the student beyond the university experience into the remainder of his / her life. In the early days, this theme was discernible but not really highlighted. By 1975, the label 'Life of Inquiry' had arisen to describe that for which JMC students were being prepared. It connotes a commitment to lifelong learning, as opposed to compartmentalizing one's educational experience into only the years spent in a university. By 1979 (when the College was no longer functioning as quite so autonomous a curricular structure), this theme faded from prominence.
|
|
|
Strong Residential Community
-
"Living / Learning"
-
"Residential learning"
-
"Residential college"
|
A central theme in the Justin Morrill College concept was that of "living / learning" -- the idea that establishing and maintaining an intersection between studies and student life facilitates the educational experience. JMC was organized in such a way that its student living quarters, faculty offices, and primary instructional spaces were co-located in or around the Snyder-Phillips dormitory complex. Students, staff, and faculty interacted in classrooms, the corridors, the cafeterias, and wherever else opportunities arose.
To be fair the living / learning ideal was not unique to JMC. During its rapid expansion in the late 1950's and into the 1960's, MSU invoked this principle to contextualize the establishment of dormitory complexes housing their own local classroom and office facilities. With the exception of the other two residential Colleges (Lyman Briggs and James Madison), other such living / learning units did not provide a unification of program or theme to match the intersection of residence and classroom.
Though JMC was not unique with regard to the general living / learning notion, the combination of this theme with an innovative and distinctive curricular model made JMC the MSU College unit most deeply invested in its principles and most intensively immersed in its implementation.
This theme alone is responsible for the creation of an intense sense of 'community' among JMC participants -- one which proved notably persistent on the occasion of the first JMC reunion (October 1999).
|
|
|
Interdisciplinary Study
-
"Multidisciplinary"
-
"Topically-oriented"
|
Justin Morrill students were not expected to limit their studies to the conventional curricular pigeonholes represented by (e.g.) the University's compartmentalization into departments. Instead, JMC students were encouraged to focus on topics (e.g., problems, issues) as their primary reference points, then pursue those topics with respect to whatever resources may prove relevant.
|
|
|
Independent Study
|
The Justin Morrill concept emphasized individual student initiative. The most direct outcome of this emphasis was that JMC students enjoyed unlimited access to independent study for credit. A student would lay out a study plan for an academic term on a given subject, get the advice and approval of a JMC faculty member in the relevant area, and conduct that study for credit. There were no restrictions on the amount of discretionary course work a student could pursue as independent study.
Even more striking was the requirement that each JMC student must (as an intrinsic part of his/her JMC curriculum) devote one entire academic term to some form of individual work outside the classroom context. There were three ways students could satisfy this requirement:
-
Foreign Study conducted outside the United States
-
Field Study conducted off-campus within the United States
-
Independent Study in a single effort or project conducted in the MSU community
|
|
|
Heuristic Learning
|
"Heuristic learning" was the term used for a mode of instruction in which JMC students were to learn actively through doing. Nowhere was this more evident than in JMC's own course offerings. These JMC courses were designed so that the student would be engaged in topically-focused classes equivalent to those typically taken by advanced undergraduate or graduate students in the University at large. The espoused philosophy was that a student, if actively engaged with the details of a specific issue, should be capable of picking up any relevant 'basics' along the way.
|
|
|
Personally-Tailored Fields of Concentration
-
"Interdisciplinary studies"
-
"Topical majors"
|
JMC students had the option of pursuing a conventional major as defined by the University at large. This was, however, only an option.
The intended focus of a student's undergraduate work was a field of concentration delineated by the student in conjunction with his/her JMC advisor. This field of concentration was typically a topically-delineated set of courses and/or other work representing a number of credit hours equivalent to a University major. Where there were no JMC and/or MSU course offerings relevant to the field of concentration, the student could 'fill in' as necessary with independent study. As such, the field of concentration provided the student with a version of a 'major' in accordance with JMC's other themes of interdisciplinary and independent study.
"The Field of Concentration, usually developed late in the sophomore year and extending through the senior year, satisfies the needs for depth in some area of inquiry. But unlike most traditional majors, the Field of Concentration may be interdisciplinary. Each Justin Morrill College student has a choice to concentrate in one area or department just as students in other colleges traditionally do, or to spread the inquiry among two or more departments and between divisions and colleges.
For example, Justin Morrill College students have, with their advisers, designed Fields of Concentration in interdisciplinary and cross-college ways such as:
-
The Use of Media
-
The Psychology of Literature
-
Prelaw
-
The Study of Peace
-
The Politics of Pollution
-
Studies in Dance, or
-
Computer Art"
(SOURCE: 1975 MSU Catalog, pp. 233-234. Vertical spacing added for readability)
|
|
|
Global Outlook
-
"International theme"
-
"International focus"
-
"Cross-cultural"
-
"Intercultural"
|
At its inception, the JMC concept carried a strong flavor of international scope. The first MSU Catalog descriptions of the College (1966; 1967) point out an 'international emphasis' or 'international theme' which contextualized the entire College.
This was reinforced by a substantial foreign language requirement. In the beginning, two years of high school foreign language study were listed as criteria for entry into JMC. During the first half of the College's lifespan, there was a curricular requirement for JMC students to complete two years' worth of university-level foreign language study. The 'crown jewel' of JMC's instructional infrastructure was its intensive foreign language programs, which provided these two years' worth of study in the space of one academic year.
The international / global focus was further reinforced by the requirement for off-campus study, which in the earliest days was strongly (but not uniquely) implied to involve foreign travel / study / service.
By the mid-1970's, this international theme had been de-emphasized, and the intensive foreign language programs had been moved (not without resistance) to the MSU College of Arts and Letters.
As such, the international / cross-cultural theme was a core component of the JMC concept during the first 10 years of the College's operations. Although it demonstrably faded in espoused importance during the 1970's, the majority of all JMC students attended the College while this theme was explicitly promoted.
|
|
|
The Best of Both Worlds
-
"Small college within the large university"
-
"Bigness versus smallness"
|
By virtue of its existence as a discrete college, Justin Morrill provided an environment within which students could avail themselves of the JMC concept's benefits. By virtue of being situated on the campus of a major state university, JMC students had access to events, people, courses, and resources beyond the scope of what could have been available in a small liberal arts college. JMC provided the flexibility for students to explore and pursue their academic interests. MSU provided the assets to ensure the feasibility of those explorations and pursuits when the student's aspirations exceeded the local resources of the college unit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The JMC Concept(s) as Portrayed by the College Itself
Justin Morrill College was as much an educational concept as an organizational entity per se. Furthermore, the 'concept' was innovative and relatively unique, even for a period in which much educational experimentation was being conducted. The main source of insight on the JMC concept was JMC itself, in the form of the self-description(s) the College generated to orient its students and attract new ones.
As Justin Morrill College evolved, its self-description changed with respect to one or another specific point. However, throughout the college's history, there remained a core set of features common to the picture JMC presented of itself. This WWW summary is intended to give an overview of the themes which were prominent in JMC's self-description, regardless of whether or not they persisted throughout the entirety of the College's 15-year lifespan.
|
For those of us who elected to pursue our degrees within Justin Morrill College, the initial understanding of the JMC concept came from the college's self-descriptions in Michigan State University literature. One such self-description was the introductory overview in the annual MSU catalog (in the program listing for JMC).
The table below provides a structured listing of Justin Morrill's 'official' descriptions as they appeared in the MSU Catalog at four points:
-
1966/1967 - The first occasions where JMC was described in the MSU Catalog.
-
1969 - A culminating year for the College's initial expansion.
-
1975 - A midpoint at the time College enrollments began to diminish.
-
1978 /1979 - The last MSU Catalog listing JMC as a College unit. (JMC became an interdisciplinary program effective July 1, 1979)
Within the table, the original catalog text is left intact (i.e., the content is verbatim from the catalog), but some minor rearrangement has been done to:
-
more clearly correlate the different editions with respect to particular subjects or themes
-
more clearly illustrate the distinctions between the editions (where they diverge)
Because this Web page focuses on the JMC 'concept', the themes and issues listed in the Table below were selected on the basis of depicting what the College was all about.
-
Specific contrasts and comparisons in course requirements are addressed on the JMC Curriculum page.
-
A representative listing of JMC course descriptions is provided on the JMC Courses page.
DISCLAIMER: The editor makes no claim that Catalog text from 5 out of 15 possible years constitutes a comprehensive set of data. The materials represented and analyzed are those which I located and obtained, pure and simple. They may or may not be truly representative of the manner in which JMC's administration saw their College. The Catalog entries may not have been accorded much importance, and might simply be the result of whatever someone submitted from one year to the next. Finally, as synopses of a complex curricular concept, the Catalog descriptions may have been edited so as to omit as much as they illuminate. All this is admitted. Still, I believe the sample represented in the Table below is sufficient to illustrate the basics, trigger some reminiscences, and inform some reflection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TABLE:
Comparison of JMC Self-Descriptions from 1966/'67, 1969, 1975, and 1979
|
| |
-
Excerpts from the four editions are arranged in chronological order from left to right on the page.
-
Bold-face text passages displayed across multiple columns are common to both/all catalog descriptions thus indicated.
-
Text passages constrained to only one or the other column are specific to that corresponding year's description.
-
Italicized editorial comments have been inserted here and there for clarification.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This small college within the larger university opened in 1965 as a limited-enrollment liberal education program with an international emphasis. (1966)
|
|
Justin Morrill College is a four-year undergraduate residential college at Michigan State University.
|
|
The 1978-1979 Catalog description does not offer a characterization of the College unit analogous to the earlier ones.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
Justin S. Morrill College provides an excellent undergraduate education for teaching and later professional study; it is not usually considered appropriate for students who wish to specialize in the sciences. (1966)
The college program is most suitable for students who seek a broad liberal arts education. Justin Morrill College provides an excellent undergraduate education for later professional study in such areas as teaching, law, and medicine. (1967)
|
|
It offers a cross-cultural liberal education
|
|
It is designed for students who want a broad, well-rounded liberal education combined with study in depth in the university leading to careers in government, the arts, business, industry, law, social service, medicine, or education.
|
|
Justin Morrill College provides a rigorous, liberal education to students interested in pursuing an interdisciplinary major as an integral component within a Bachelor of Arts program.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justin S. Morrill College students live in their own residence halls, have their own curriculum, and study with faculty whose offices are located in the Phillips and Snyder dormitories, the College headquarters. (1966)
|
|
Justin Morrill students live and study together in their own residence halls, have a special academic program, and work with faculty whose offices are located in the college.
|
|
The 1978-1979 Catalog description makes no reference to a living / learning model or environment.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
From the entire University faculty, Justin Morrill College recruits teachers to give courses in those subjects in which they are personally most interested. Thus, the enthusiasm of the faculty remains high.
|
|
Teachers come to the college from the entire university and represent a great variety of talent and background.
In addition, the college has a small core faculty who develop innovative approaches to undergraduate education including special programs in language, field, independent, and foreign study.
|
|
The small core faculty work full time in small classes in the College.
In addition, the College frequently brings in other faculty from the University for varying periods of time to enrich and broaden the scope of its program.
|
|
The 1978-1979 Catalog description makes no reference to external faculty visiting JMC to teach. The course descriptions at this date seem to clearly break down into a small set of core JMC courses, with the student taking the majority of his/her coursework in the University at large.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is a small college within the larger university, and seeks to take advantage of the best aspects of both the intimate limited size college and the multisided complex university. (1967)
|
|
|
|
The College combines the advantages of smallness and bigness.
|
|
The 1978-1979 Catalog description makes no reference to 'smallness/bigness' complementarity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
The full facilities of the entire university are available to Justin Morrill students - ... (1967)
|
|
Justin Morrill students use the full facilities of the entire university - ...
|
|
Justin Morrill College students have full use of the entire range of University programs to build their Fields of Concentration and to take electives. They have access as well to ...
|
|
The 1978-1979 Catalog description makes no reference to JMC students accessing and/or exploiting the resources of the larger University. By this point in time, JMC students seem to be characterized as MSU students who have selected a JMC curricular track.
|
... - the library, the social, recreational and athletic programs, the lecture-concert series, and the broad range of student activities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
...a limited-enrollment liberal education program...
Only 200 freshman girls and 200 freshman men are selected for each entering class, and the total enrollment will be limited to 1000-1200 students.
Two years of modern foreign language study in high school are required. (1966)
|
|
Justin Morrill is not an honors college.
|
|
Its student body represents a broad cross-section of abilities and interests characteristic of a diverse large university.
|
|
The 1978-1979 Catalog description makes no reference to JMC students as comprising a population distinct from the University student population.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Applicants meeting the same general requirements for admission to the University shown in the Undergraduate Education section ...
|
|
The 1975 Catalog doesn't specifically cite the admissibility criterion in such precise terms.
|
|
Applicants meeting the same general requirements for admission to the University shown in the Undergraduate Education section ...
|
... may be considered for a place in Justin Morrill College.
|
|
|
|
... may enroll with a major preference in Justin Morrill College.
|
..., providing they have the appropriate background in foreign language. (1967)
|
|
... The essential requirement is desire for personal and intellectual self-criticism and development through community involvement and independent learning on campus and around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Any student admissible to Michigan State University...
|
|
|
|
|
| |
...may be considered for a place in the college.
| |
...may enroll in Justin Morrill College.
|
|
Newly admitted students, either freshmen or transfer students, may declare a preference for JMC upon entering Michigan State University.
|
| |
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Students may be considered for transfer into Justin Morrill College until the end of the sophomore year; any student in good standing may transfer from Justin Morrill College to other Michigan State University programs at any time if he meets the requirements of the accepting college and department.
|
|
Transfer students will have their credits evaluated by the Office of Admissions and Scholarships and by Justin Morrill College.
The college evaluates prior educational and work experiences that transfer students might have at the time of their admission.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justin Morrill College offers a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justin Morrill students take the college program in place of the usual University College general education courses. (1967)
Approximately half of their four-year program consists of courses offered nowhere else in the University. For the balance, Justin Morrill students take courses in existing University programs. Students divide their time between the college and the University throughout their four years, but they concentrate chiefly on Justin Morrill College courses their first two years and on all-University courses their last two. (1967)
|
|
The Justin Morrill program replaces the usual University College general education courses.
|
|
The College divides its degree program so that approximately half of the required study takes place in Justin Morrill College.
|
|
The college's degree program has three major components: general education, the field of concentration and the core of integrative courses offered in JMC.
['General education' means ...] ...(t)he four general education course sequences of the University College...
The 'integrative core courses offered in JMC' consist of 24 or 25 credits (out of the 180 minimum necessary to graduate).
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[The Field of Concentration]...may encompass a major or interdisciplinary study developed in each instance with the approval of the student's adviser.
|
|
The Field of Concentration, usually developed late in the sophomore year and extending through the senior year, satisfies the needs for depth in some area of inquiry. But unlike most traditional majors, the Field of Concentration may be interdisciplinary.
Just as the College itself is organized thematically around The Life of Inquiry, so may Justin Morrill College students organize their Field of Concentration thematically.
|
|
Each student must have an interdisciplinary field of concentration.
In some instances the field of concentration may be designed for the individual student, taking into account the student's abilities, prior experience and educational goals.
In other instances, the student may choose one of the pre-planned fields of concentration in areas such as Dance, Society and Law, or Public Policy.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advanced Justin Morrill students take all their field of concentration from among university courses.
|
|
Of the remainder, some must be taken in the University as a student's Field of Concentration, and the rest may be distributed as electives either in the College or in the University.
|
|
[The interdisciplinary field of concentration...] ...must encompass courses within at least two other colleges at Michigan State University.
...the courses in the area of concentration are taken primarily outside of JMC, in other colleges of the University.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This small college within the larger university opened in 1965 as a limited-enrollment liberal education program with an international emphasis. (1966)
An international theme threads the program of the college. ... Not only does the college thus equip students for intercultural study at home or abroad early their undergraduate career, but in addition it sets an international tone to the the entire four years from the very first week of classes. ... (1967)
|
|
The 1969 JMC Catalog entry does not claim any international focus or theme.
|
|
The 1975 JMC Catalog entry does not claim any international focus or theme.
|
|
The 1978-1979 JMC Catalog entry does not claim any international focus or theme.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Two years of modern foreign language study in high school are required. About half the freshman studies are devoted to intensive language courses in French, Russian, and Spanish. (1966)
In addition to the equivalent of three years of college foreign language study, Justin S. Morrill College requires... (1966)
In the freshman year, each student perfects a functional use of one of the languages offered, currently French, Spanish, and Russian. (1967)
|
|
All students complete a sequence in at least one foreign language program offered.
|
|
By the time of the 1975 Catalog, the 2-year foreign language requirement has disappeared from the basic JMC curricular outline.
Furthermore, the 1975 Catalog does not list any JMC foreign language courses.
|
|
The 1978-1979 JMC Catalog entry does not indicate any foreign language requirement whatsoever.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justin Morrill College, combining the traditional with the innovative, challenges each student to discover himself and who he wants to be, and to learn something of the interdependence of the modern world.
|
|
The 1969 JMC Catalog entry does not offer any similarly broad comments on JMC's vision for the student.
|
|
Justin Morrill College organizes its undergraduate degree program around a theme, The Life of Inquiry.
|
|
The 1978-1979 JMC Catalog description's 'vision statement' is limited to the comments below...
|
|
[The features of the JMC experience all...] ...work to unify a Justin Morrill student's undergraduate experience in rare and valuable ways. The college hopes that these features will increase a student's intellectual and emotional involvement in his education and his sense of the interdependence of all men in all communities.
|
|
|
|
The College assumes that the best use of an undergraduate liberal education is to prepare a student for both a satisfying career and a satisfying life. And the College believes that both these goals are best characterized by ...
|
|
...a life of inquiry, that is a life of ...
|
|
|
|
... intelligent curiosity, of intellectual development, of responsible participation, of lifelong learning.
In order best to prepare a student for such a life of inquiry, the College program combines training in skills with exposure to traditional fields of knowledge, instruction in professionally-led courses with independent study, learning on campus in small college and large university settings, with learning off campus in other cultural settings around the nation and around the world.
|
|
...intelligent curiosity, intellectual development and responsible participation.
Note the omission of 'lifelong learning' - Ed.
|
|
|
1966/1967 |
|
1969 |
|
1975 |
|
1978 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Upon acceptance, each student will be assigned an academic adviser in the college. (1967) |
|
Upon acceptance, each student is assigned an academic assistant in the college who is an upperclass student. He will orient Justin Morrill College students to college life, and advise them on their academic program. He serves as a source of information about the college and the University. And when Justin Morrill College students reach a decision concerning their field of concentration he guides them to a full-time Justin Morrill College faculty member for professional program building.
|
|
The 1975 JMC Catalog entry makes no mention of students being assigned to specific advisors upon arrival.
|
|
The 1978-1979 JMC Catalog entry makes no mention of students being assigned to specific advisors upon arrival.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
