Franconia College
Encyclopedia
Franconia College was a small experimental liberal arts college
in Franconia
, New Hampshire
, United States
. It opened in 1963 on the site of The Forest Hills Hotel on Agassiz Road, and closed in 1978, after years of declining enrollment and increasing financial difficulties.
A small, eclectic faculty provided a diverse education. Areas of studies included the fine arts, architecture
, performing arts
, language
s, law
, and business
. During the 1960s, the college played a small part in the Race for Space
.
, publisher of the Manchester Union Leader
, vilified the students for behavior that included unmarried persons of the opposite sex sleeping together. The headline "Bare Debauchery at Franconia College: Sex, Liquor, Drugs Rampant on Campus" made the front page of the newspaper the same day a smaller one announced the assassination of Martin Luther King.
While the article was believed to be exaggerated, nine students were arrested in a marijuana raid that spring, and a cascade of changes happened at the school. College president Richard Ruopp resigned at the demand of the board of trustees in April, then the board let two teachers' contracts lapse against a faculty committee recommendation to rehire them. The teachers and staff responded in July with mass resignations, leaving the college with half the number of staff it had at the beginning of the 1967-68 year. At the time, the school was running $100,000 per year in debt and the school's mortgage was threatened with foreclosure. In an attempt to ease its financial straits, the school made its grounds available as a weekend ski lodge the following winter.
became the youngest college president in the country. After securing $800,000 in federal grants, Botstein oversaw new construction including three small dormitories and a student union.
In 1976, the college appeared on a segment of ABC Evening News with president Ira Goldenberg, economics professor George Wheeler and two students discussing the experiences and responsibility learned at Franconia.
Honorary degrees were conferred on Muhammad Ali
and Kenneth Clark
in 1977.
Franconia College closed due to bankruptcy in January 1978. According to former dean of students and director of housing and counseling services Rich Colfer, every student who contacted counseling services during the closure was placed at another college.
After Franconia College closed, the School of Human Services program moved to New Hampshire College
. The program currently resides at Springfield College
.
The Trustees of Franconia College purchased the former Forest Hills Hotel in 1960. The hotel had been in operation since its construction in 1882 and had been donated to the University of New Hampshire
in 1956.
Situated north of the White Mountain National Forest
, the college provided easy access for students to the outdoor sporting activities for which the North Country is most famous. Several students lived in their own tents and tepees in the nearby woods.
In June 1978, the campus was offered for sale at auction but failed to sell at that time. The main hotel building was torn down in 1985 and the former college president's house, known as "The Lodge" when built in 1892, opened as a bed and breakfast called The Inn At Forest Hills in 1993.
, and Nicholas Howe. Notable faculty include Eliot Coleman
, who taught Spanish, and Nancy L. Walker, a widely published and award-winning creative nonfictionist. After the closure of Franconia, Walker became Professor of English and Director of Composition at Missouri State University in Springfield. The influential poet Robert Grenier taught at the college in the early 70s. Other notable faculty included Mike Wallace
and Peter Linebaugh
in history, David Kettler in political science, and Michael Dorris
in anthropology.
.
In 1975, a group of students from the University of Pittsburgh
Alternative Curriculum program toured several New England schools that were offering new and progressive programs, including Franconia College. Several students were invited to come back for a special summer session that included classes for "Sugar Maple Woodlot Management" and "Auto Mechanics." Teachers with local professional experience offered hands-on education and experience with tools of the trade and actual work experience such as the basics of auto tune-ups and learning how to evaluate the woodlot for the healthiest growth of the trees. Students learned how to safely work on cars and use a chain saw to thin the sugar maple woodlots as well as learning how to tap a tree and how to protect oneself from the notorious black flies. One of the students reports that she was able to use the skills and experience learned in the auto mechanics class to hire on as a Journeyman
marine machinist repairing diesel engines onboard Navy ships in Alameda, California.
That same year, the college was denied a $560,000 federal grant to support an experimental cooperative project with a local school district that met with opposition by both Governor Meldrim Thomson, Jr.
and the Manchester Union Leader.
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
in Franconia
Franconia, New Hampshire
Franconia is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,104 at the 2010 census. Set in the White Mountains, Franconia is home to the northern half of Franconia Notch State Park. Parts of the White Mountain National Forest are in the eastern and southern portions...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It opened in 1963 on the site of The Forest Hills Hotel on Agassiz Road, and closed in 1978, after years of declining enrollment and increasing financial difficulties.
A small, eclectic faculty provided a diverse education. Areas of studies included the fine arts, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s, law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, and business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
. During the 1960s, the college played a small part in the Race for Space
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
.
History
Franconia College opened as a two-year college in 1963 with nine founding staff members; the school began granting four-year degrees in 1965. The school was accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.1960s
The school first gained national attention in 1968 when William LoebWilliam Loeb
William "Bill" Loeb III was publisher of the Manchester Union Leader newspaper in Manchester, New Hampshire, from 1946 until his death in 1981...
, publisher of the Manchester Union Leader
New Hampshire Union Leader
The New Hampshire Union Leader is the daily newspaper of Manchester, the largest city in the state of New Hampshire. As of September 2010 it had a daily circulation of 48,342 and the circulation of its Sunday paper, the New Hampshire Sunday News, was 63,991. It was founded in 1863.It was called...
, vilified the students for behavior that included unmarried persons of the opposite sex sleeping together. The headline "Bare Debauchery at Franconia College: Sex, Liquor, Drugs Rampant on Campus" made the front page of the newspaper the same day a smaller one announced the assassination of Martin Luther King.
While the article was believed to be exaggerated, nine students were arrested in a marijuana raid that spring, and a cascade of changes happened at the school. College president Richard Ruopp resigned at the demand of the board of trustees in April, then the board let two teachers' contracts lapse against a faculty committee recommendation to rehire them. The teachers and staff responded in July with mass resignations, leaving the college with half the number of staff it had at the beginning of the 1967-68 year. At the time, the school was running $100,000 per year in debt and the school's mortgage was threatened with foreclosure. In an attempt to ease its financial straits, the school made its grounds available as a weekend ski lodge the following winter.
1970s
Franconia College again gained national attention in 1970, when 23-year-old Leon BotsteinLeon Botstein
Leon Botstein is an American conductor and the President of Bard College . Botstein is the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director and principal conductor from 2003-2010...
became the youngest college president in the country. After securing $800,000 in federal grants, Botstein oversaw new construction including three small dormitories and a student union.
In 1976, the college appeared on a segment of ABC Evening News with president Ira Goldenberg, economics professor George Wheeler and two students discussing the experiences and responsibility learned at Franconia.
Honorary degrees were conferred on Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and Kenneth Clark
Kenneth and Mamie Clark
Kenneth Bancroft Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark were African-American psychologists who as a married team conducted important research among children and were active in the Civil Rights Movement...
in 1977.
Franconia College closed due to bankruptcy in January 1978. According to former dean of students and director of housing and counseling services Rich Colfer, every student who contacted counseling services during the closure was placed at another college.
After Franconia College closed, the School of Human Services program moved to New Hampshire College
Southern New Hampshire University
Southern New Hampshire University, also known as SNHU, is a private university in Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and also has numerous specialized...
. The program currently resides at Springfield College
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...
.
Campus
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
in 1956.
Situated north of the White Mountain National Forest
White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest is a federally-managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of...
, the college provided easy access for students to the outdoor sporting activities for which the North Country is most famous. Several students lived in their own tents and tepees in the nearby woods.
In June 1978, the campus was offered for sale at auction but failed to sell at that time. The main hotel building was torn down in 1985 and the former college president's house, known as "The Lodge" when built in 1892, opened as a bed and breakfast called The Inn At Forest Hills in 1993.
Faculty
The nine founding staff members include Richard S. Roupp, later president of the college, Robert Greenway, Peter ElbowPeter Elbow
Peter Elbow is currently a Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he also directed the Writing Program from 1996 until 2000...
, and Nicholas Howe. Notable faculty include Eliot Coleman
Eliot Coleman
Eliot Coleman is an American farmer, author, agricultural researcher and educator, and proponent of organic farming. His 1989 book, The New Organic Grower, is important reading for organic farmers and market gardeners. He served for two years as Executive Director of the International Federation...
, who taught Spanish, and Nancy L. Walker, a widely published and award-winning creative nonfictionist. After the closure of Franconia, Walker became Professor of English and Director of Composition at Missouri State University in Springfield. The influential poet Robert Grenier taught at the college in the early 70s. Other notable faculty included Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (historian)
Mike Wallace is an American historian, Distinguished Professor of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, where he has taught since 1971, and the director of the Gotham Center for New York City History....
and Peter Linebaugh
Peter Linebaugh
Peter Linebaugh is an American Marxist historian who specializes in British history, Irish history, labor history, and the history of the colonial Atlantic. He is a member of the Midnight Notes Collective.-Education:...
in history, David Kettler in political science, and Michael Dorris
Michael Dorris
Michael Anthony Dorris was a prominent American novelist and scholar. During his career he presented himself as Native American and this identity was a key part of his professional activities and his public reputation; but its factuality is in doubt...
in anthropology.
Extracurricular activities
The physics department sponsored a student UFO Study Group. In 1975, three student members contacted and interviewed Betty HillBetty and Barney Hill abduction
Betty and Barney Hill were an American couple who claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural portion of New Hampshire on September 19–20, 1961....
.
Curriculum
Part of Franconia College's oeuvre was alternative education classes that were the object of study in developing new ways to teach that gave more individualized instruction and more varied opportunities. There were no required courses, no formal academic departments and no grades. Degrees were granted after students demonstrated competence in their fields to a faculty committee.In 1975, a group of students from the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
Alternative Curriculum program toured several New England schools that were offering new and progressive programs, including Franconia College. Several students were invited to come back for a special summer session that included classes for "Sugar Maple Woodlot Management" and "Auto Mechanics." Teachers with local professional experience offered hands-on education and experience with tools of the trade and actual work experience such as the basics of auto tune-ups and learning how to evaluate the woodlot for the healthiest growth of the trees. Students learned how to safely work on cars and use a chain saw to thin the sugar maple woodlots as well as learning how to tap a tree and how to protect oneself from the notorious black flies. One of the students reports that she was able to use the skills and experience learned in the auto mechanics class to hire on as a Journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
marine machinist repairing diesel engines onboard Navy ships in Alameda, California.
That same year, the college was denied a $560,000 federal grant to support an experimental cooperative project with a local school district that met with opposition by both Governor Meldrim Thomson, Jr.
Meldrim Thomson, Jr.
Meldrim Thomson, Jr. was a Republican who served three terms as Governor of the U.S. state of New Hampshire from 1973 to 1979, during which time he became known as a strong supporter of conservative political values....
and the Manchester Union Leader.
Notable alumni
- Ron AndrolaRon AndrolaRon Androla is an American poet and the author of more than forty books of poetry. He has been published extensively in the American small press scene.- Life :...
, poet - Henry CorraHenry CorraHenry John Corra is an American documentary filmmaker and commercial director.-Background: is a New York City based documentary filmmaker best known for his highly acclaimed films , , , , the Emmy nominated , the and...
, filmmaker - Tim CostelloTim Costello (labor advocate)Timothy Mark "Tim" Costello was an American labor and anti-globalization advocate who started his career as a truck driver, driving fuel trucks and as a long-haul trucker...
(1945–2009), labor and anti-globalizationAnti-globalization movementThe anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or...
advocate and author - Cathy HaaseCathy HaaseCathy Haase is an American stage and film actress, writer and educator. She attended Franconia College in New Hampshire. Since 1996, she has taught acting at the School of Visual Arts in New York City....
, actor and educator - Jamaica KincaidJamaica KincaidJamaica Kincaid is a Caribbean novelist, gardener, and gardening writer. She was born in the city of St. John's on the island of Antigua in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda...
, novelist - Steven "Steinski" Stein, musician
- Marc SteinerMarc SteinerMarc Steiner is an American radio talk show host. He currently hosts The Marc Steiner Show on WEAA , and previously worked for WYPR from 1993 until his firing on February 1, 2008....
, radio talk show host and founder, Center for Emerging Media