MEREDITH HERALD
Volume X Issue 16
February 2,1994
Raleigh, North Carolina
Meredith College receives new funding
by Christina Peoples
Meredith College has recently re
ceived funding for both a new leader*
ship institute and an English scholar
ship.
The Broyhill Family Foundation has
pledged $150,000 to establish the
Broyhill Leadership Institute at Meredith
College. The leadership program will
be funded by the Foundation over a five-
year period.
The Institute will include a Leade^
ship in Residence Program, the BroyhiU
Lecture Series, and Servanthood. These
programs will give students opportuni
ties to develop leadership in the areas of
teamwork, decision-making and
mentoring.
The Emerging Leaders Seminar, a
semester-longprogramibrfreshmenand
sophomores, and Women in the
Workforce, workshops for corporate
women, will also be included in the
Institute.
This program is the first one of its
kind in North Carolina. The idea behind
the Institute is that leadership can and
should be taught as pan of the curricu
lum
Meredith’s mission to stimulate the
intellectual, social and spiritual devel
opment of its students will be a chal
lenge that this program can serve well,
said President Weems.
Some of the objectives of this pro
gram are as follows;
• developing attitudes and skills nec
essary for effective teamwork.
• gaining knowledge and wisdom
about what it means to be an intellec
tual leader.
• developing ^ys to use wisdom as
a part of the decision-making process.
• developing strategies to cope with
the stress involved in negotiating the
boundaries of women’s lives.
• developing mentoring techniques.
The first part of the program, Lead
ership in Residence, will have promi
nent state and regional leaders lead dis
cussions for students, staff and £iculty.
There will be five three-hour seminars
each semester on current leadership
issues.
The Broyhill Lecture Series will be
open to the Raleigh and Meredith com
munities, and will include topics like
ethics, women leaders, and gender and
race.
The third aspect of the Institute,
Servanthood, was founded on the belief
that leamii^ to serve is of primary im
portance to becoming a leader. Stu
dents will have 10 hours of community
service in soup kitchens, clothes clos
ets, and tutoring sessions with at-risk
students.
After the fivef ear giant period the
Leader in Residence Program will be
funded by Meredith, the Lecture Series
wiU be funded by charging a fee for the
participants, and the Servanthood as
pect will integrate into the leadership
program throi^ the offices of Student
Activities and Continuing Education.
Meredith’s new English scholarship
was created by Alice and Daniel Satisl^
for an English major and preferably a
prospective teacher. Alice Satisky is a
1937 Meredith graduate.
The scholarship, worth $50,000, can
be renewed each year. The recipients
will be chosen by the English depart
ment and Meredith’s director of schol
arships and financial assistance.
Meredith community comments on Meredith's image
by Erica Balmer
While strolling through Johnson Hall
last semester, some of you may have
seen the graffiti board that was entitled
“What Do You Think About the Image
ofMeredith?" sponsored by the Student
Government Association. It didn’t take
long for the community to begin ex
pressing their thoughts, concerns, and
complaints. The board was soon cov
ered with a wide variety of comments
that referred to numerous campus is
sues. Here is just a sampling of responses.
General
“We need a woman president.”
“This school is wonderful but needs
to focus less on being a rel^us school
and more on Christ!"
“[Meredith] has an incredible repu-
ution. I’ve been to three other schools
(universities), and Meredith isbyfarthe
best!’
“Meredith is a self-esteem builder. It
lets one know she can do it!”
'Meredith has a lot to offer, but you
have to know where to find it ”
Security
Several students revealed concerns
about Meredith’s security system and
its staff:
‘Bringingyoungand capable women
officers on this campus should be h^hly
considered.”
Male Visitation
A great deal of emphasis ^s placed
on male visitation for brothers, friends
and boyfriends.
(11 for, 4 against)
“We should have more bathrooms
available to male visitors.'
“1 think it is ridiculous tluu my own
brother can’t come in my room!"
Image
While the majority of student re
sponses addressed campus issues, some
students spoke particularly about
Meredith’s image.
“I think Meredith is extremely too
concerned her image in today’s
and not concerned enough about the
actualities occurring here on campus.
What kind of image we have should
reflect the reality of life here on cam
pus—and it falls short in many ways.”
“1 think Meredith is trying to get
away from the ‘uptight’ image, but it is
still not caught up with the times.’
“I think we need to work on general
appearance, for example, painting and
g^ening.”
Academics and
Departments
A major issue addressed pertained
to academics at Meredith. While some
students praised Meredith’s academic
standards, others felt that the academic
policies, such as academic probation
and admission qualifications, are inef
fective. Other students were concerned
with the future of Meredith students as
a reflection of academics and coUege
departments.
“Meredith has to stop painting such
fun and carefree pictures to prospec
tive students. Yes, Meredith can be a
fun-loving place, but it is also a place
that requires a lot of woric to succeed.”
“On my tour [of the campus) the
students told me how hard Meredith
is—this is why 1 chose it. None of the
other women’s colleges said anything
about academics, so I doubted their
standards.'
“Meredith needs to have stricter rules
dealing with grades."
“The academics here are very good,
so Meredith does not need to sell herself
short by admitting students that are
under par but can pay their tuition on
time.”
“I think Meredith would benefit with
its own nursing prt^ram."
“We need to prepare our students to
be more confident in what they know
and to be more assertive so potential
employers will not think that we come
from a finishing school.'
“How can we produce strong assets
to the working community if we reduce
the standards."
Read the remainder of the
comments in next week's
Herald.