Gwen Gosney-Erickson, college archivist, forwarded me these minutes from 1966, when the college was facing rapid change and a call to revise their curriculum. They’re a fascinating look at a parallel time in Guilford’s history fifty years ago.
[pdf-embedder url=”http://moonrm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1966FacultyMinute.pdf”]
I asked for a little more context, and Gwen wrote:
This was a massive overhaul transforming from a curriculum that had basically existing for over 30 years. It’s when Guilford established a required interdisciplinary first year course and a IDS capstone. The transformation sought to be a bold articulation of Guilford moving from a stereotypical midcentury model to an innovative one embracing interdisciplinary and non-Western perspectives. At the same time, Guilford was renovating outdated dormitories and reinvigorating the faculty with development opportunities made possible with Title III grant funds and new recruitment. Some of the things put into motion in 1966 ended up being those that remained to this day (even through the 1998 revisions). You might want to ask Cyril how it was for him as he was brought in to develop Guilford’s Geology department at this time.