Education
Columnist spurs formation of ecology college Jack Anderson guides transformation of fledging Kirkland Hall into research center and college of ecology "Give me but a place to stand," said Archimedes some 2200 years ago, "and I can move the world." With a platform and a suitable lever, he contended, a man could move the unmovable. Today, a modern man is attempting to emulate Archimedes and move the world of pollution, although the odds against his success appear nearly as high as those facing the Greek. His platform is a nationally syndicated newspaper column reaching 45 million people, and his lever is a small junior college named Kirkland Hall. "America the beautiful, sadly, is becoming America the blighted," wrote Jack Anderson earlier this summer. "The [ecological] crisis is becoming so critical that we have decided to join the crusade for an environmental cleanup." To lead that cleanup, he told his readers, "we have found a small college in a natural wonderland within easy access of the great population centers of the East . . . . The trustees have agreed to transform Kirkland Hall, under our direction, into a college of ecology." And, most important, "The college will also open a research center that will investigate pollution, name polluters, and crusade for reform." The unlikely combination of a small junior college in Maryland and a crusading journalist was precipitated by Mr. Anderson's son, who attended Kirkland Hall and who, presumably, pointed out some of the school's chief virtues to his father—the unspoiled location, the quality of the faculty, and the natural inclination of the school's founders to pursue environmental topics. "The whole thing just seemed to fit perfectly an idea that I had for establishing a college of ecology," Mr. Anderson tells C&EN's Thomas Maugh, II. "I spoke to the trustees, and . . . 34
C&EN AUG. 23, 1971
they have given me, I guess, a blank check in establishing the college." In return for this creative role, the columnist notes, "I will have to raise the funds for it." Nearly everything about the school will be centered on the environment. The former associate of the late columnist Drew Pearson plans to assemble "the finest faculty that will be available anywhere in the U.S. on environmental subjects." The classroom studies will be designed to use the natural assets of the site. "We hope to get boats," he says in illustration, "so that we can have floating classrooms to study the Chesapeake." In place of the conventional sports, Mr. Anderson notes, the college will offer outdoor survival, boat handling, and so forth. Kirkland Hall will also be working with corporations which have ecology programs in the area. "There are some that are doing recycling, others that are studying fishing—that have fish plants and so forth—that have offered to work with us," the columnist adds. "We would hope, then, to send students out to places like this to study, also." Trustee. But Mr. Anderson will not participate in the day-to-day operation of the school, other than in the normal role of a trustee. "I'm going to raise money for it, in the public interest," he says, "and then let the
school's administrators operate—with suggestions on the areas that they go into. I would no more dictate to them what to do than I would expect them to dictate to me." But, he adds, "I'll try to motivate them." Moreover, in talking with Mr. Anderson, one rapidly senses that the school is, to a degree, only a vehicle for his principal goal—an ecology research center. The school, he says, "will be, I hope, a place where the polluters and the antipolluters can get together and find a common ground" where they can "find practical solutions to our pollution problems." Transcripts of these meetings will be published, as will be "regular and frequent" position papers prepared by the center's staff. "Frankly," he says, "I'm more interested in finding solutions than I am in teaching young people, but I'm interested in both." Seminars at the school and research papers prepared there, he argues, "are going to have great national impact. I think the college itself will probably never be so big that it will have that kind of impact." The college itself, in fact, at first sight appears capable of little impact at all. Kirkland Hall occupies 80 acres of a 700-acre estate at the mouth of the Miles River on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, near Easton, Md. Its only surroundings are forests and
Capt. Stencil: environmental studies in the curriculum right from the start
These in-depth studies will be supplemented by the ecology research center. The task of the center, the captain continues, "will be to sort out what we think the real issues are, and to seek the advice of experts, both in industry and in science and education . . . . We know there's been a lot of research, that there's a lot of good material." The staff will collect this information "and, perhaps, give it a degree of analysis and cohesiveness for our information center." Eventually, then, "an individual could come to us and say that he has Former storage barn has been converted to dining hall and library a problem, or that he would like to farms and—except for its tennis and lem that needs to be remedied imme- have guidance. And we would be able basketball courts—the school is vir- diately. The school is expensive to to crank out a position paper for him tually indistinguishable from its sur- run, he says, because it is operating and say, 'This is what seems to be, or at a level that is less than optimum: is, the best thinking on this issue roundings. Transformations. Only on entering "A hundred students is not ideal, right now.' " But "one fact should be clear," Capt. the buildings does one realize the ex- either economically or programwise. tent of the transformations that have We've envisioned a growth to 400 stu- Stencil argues. "Kirkland Hall coltaken place. The Georgian colonial dents in increments of about 50, [but] lege is in no way competing [with] or manor house has been changed little that growth is almost directly de- duplicating programs already under and now serves as a residence for the pendent upon whether or not we can way." Its approach is "similar in concollege president and as a center for have the facilities we need to house cept to Ralph Nader's efforts in the receptions and official entertainment, them." The establishment of the col- area of consumer products. Kirkland but the adjoining guest house is now lege of ecology will help to provide Hall college will determine the truth about man and his environment, then the administration building. The those facilities. But the establishment of a college identify those specific areas where nearby carriage house is now a science laboratory. The main storage of ecology, Capt. Stencil says, will not there is a need for change and take barn houses both the dining hall and cause a substantive change in direc- action to effect such a change." Questionnaires. The research center the growing library. The dairy barn tion for Kirkland Hall's academic proand stables have been converted into gram. "We included environmental is already operating—although only dormitories, their silos into lounges. studies in our curriculum right from "on one or two cylinders," as Mr. AnThe campus bookstore resides in what the beginning," he points out. "We in- derson notes. The school has begun cluded them because I was rather pos- identifying and charting polluted areas was once a small milk shed. In effect, the school appears to be sessed with the idea we should all be of the Chesapeake Bay and its tribuhiding from the world, unwilling to more aware of our responsibilities taries. It has also opened a Washingdisrupt its environment with the nor- toward conserving our natural re- ton office, next door to Jack Anderson's, where the new director of enmal trappings of academe. In fact, sources." Self-reliance. Kirkland Hall is, he vironmental research, Mike Kiernan, the rustic appearance is the simple result of clever use of existing buildings says, "interested in conservation sub- has begun "to coordinate and assemjects and activities that will build self- ble all available information about to minimize expenses. "We started from absolute scratch," reliance in youth. We want to put ecology." Last week Mr. Kiernan besays Capt. Walter J. Stencil, who re- [these things] together in an educa- gan sending out questionnaires to tired from the Navy four and one half tional process, and that's what we've some 2500 environmental and citizenyears ago because "I really had gotten been about—creating common-man action groups, polling them about maexcited about the prospect of . . . start- awareness of the issues and problems jor polluters in their area. Then Mr. ing a college that wasn't bound to any and what he or she might be able to Kiernan says, he hopes to follow that up with another survey to find out tradition or bound by a lot of internal do." Initially, therefore, "we intend to who has been cooperating in the enmechanisms that couldn't change." Kirkland Hall "started with 10 stu- make no drastic changes in our phi- vironmental effort. The key to all of these activities, dents in 1967, in rented and leased fa- losophy. The courses in environmencilities and with a bus that I used to tal studies will be enlarged and both fund-raising and research, will be transport [the students] between strengthened as much as we can, but the publicity generated by Mr. Anderclasses." The school moved into its on a growth basis. The rest of the son through his newspaper column— refurbished facilities and graduated program at the college will grow com- keeping both the polluters and its first class—two students—the fol- mensurately." Everyone, he says, will the antipolluters in the public eye. receive an overview, "a general course "We think we can come up with some lowing year. Now Kirkland Hall has an enroll- in this field that would make him novel, bold ideas about how to rement of slightly more than 100, al- keenly aware of his responsibility search and study pollution," concludes though it has classroom facilities for toward his God-given resources. Then, Mr. Kiernan, "and do it legitimately twice that many. The limiting factor, those who are particularly interested and credibly, [but] still, somehow, in Capt. Stencil indicates, is the lack of . . . in ecology will have the benefit of that kind of dramatic tradition of muckrakers and journalists." dormitory space, and that is a prob- the environmental studies in depth." AUG. 23, 1971 C&EN
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