Presidential persona assumption and rhetorical strategies

Education

Assuming a Presidential Persona

(a)What can you tell me about your life, especially as it led to the university presidency you now occupy?

I was born in 1832 in Homer, New York. I attended Geneva College, which later became Hobart College. I then graduated from Yale University. In 1864, I was elected to the New York State Senate. It was here that I crossed paths with Ezra Cornell (Andrew Dickson White, 2009). I was the youngest senator and chairman of the committee on education. Cornell was a self-made man who was the largest stakeholder of Western Union. He was also the chairman of the committee on agriculture. In 1865, the New York legislator charted Cornell University. In doing this they turned over New York's share of the federal land grants of 1862. Ezra Cornell also contributed $500,000 at that time and thus that it why the institution bears his name (Rudolph, 1990, p. 66).

Ezra Cornell had originally envisioned the institution as a trade school. I, on the other hand believed that it should be designed to join the new spirit of scholarship as well as promote the vocational subjects and the courses in applied science. I believed that this was the whole idea on what the land grant idea was based. When this university opened in 1869, we had only one building completed. I had managed to hire seventeen resident and six non-resident professors. We opened our doors with 400 student's enrolled (Rudolph, 1990, p. 67).

I believe that Cornell has a spirit of innovation. Our goal is to unite the practical and liberal sides of learning. I want to make sure that all courses of study are equal and that scientific studies will receive appropriate encouragement. There will be no second class citizens here at Cornell, while I am president. We will prepare students to the fullest for their roles in society (Rudolph, 1990, p. 68).

(b)What contributions has your institution made to the rise of universities after 1862? Of what are you most proud?

Cornell University managed to seize the new initiative that happened in American higher education after the Civil War. In different ways we have responded to the needs and demands that society has put upon us. Society has been increasing in material wealth, standard of living, industrialization and urbanization. Our philosophy has been to debase classical studies such as agriculture and mechanical studies. Our focus has been on the equality of studies, decline of the classics, and having free election of courses (Rudolph, 1990, p. 68).

I am most proud of our ability to see where American education was heading and leading the way for many others. There has been a growing awareness that the new age is requiring new training and new preparation. By the 1850's the industrial potential of the United States had been realized. We took that notion and build our curriculum around it. We recognized that there would some day be a need for the ordinary farmer and mechanic to need training beyond the job itself. We strove to advance some theoretical and ideological notions of what popular technical education should be. Our man idea has been to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial class people so that they can pursue different professions in life (Rudolph, 1990, p. 148-149).

American education has undergone a transformation and we are glad that we could be a part of it. Cornell has been a leader and others have learned from us. There have been many schools that have begun forming their curriculum around the same ideas that we have. It has been a very exciting journey to watch the transformation of the education system in this country. It is headed in the right direction and will surly prosper in the many years to come.

(c)Why were you able to accomplish what you did when you did?

We have been able to accomplish what we have because of the Land Grant College Act of 1862. In early 1848, Congressman Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont suggested that American colleges might steer away from the portion of the studies that had been established so many years ago and think about moving in a direction of having studies with more practical values. In 1857, he introduced a bill that incorporated leading reform notions in regards to technical education. He proposed that institutions should promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in areas that relate to the professions that people were doing (Rudolph, 1990, p. 149).

This act provided for the support in every state of at least one college. Each state was given public lands or land script equal to 30,000 acres for each senator and representative under the apportionment of 1860. It was because of this and the independent benefaction of Ezra Cornell that allowed for the formation of Cornell University. Since the act provided nothing in the way of supervision we were able to determine how our university would be developed and what curriculum we would teach (Rudolph, 1990, p. 252-253).

It has always been my vision that Cornell University be an institution in that our curriculum should be based upon vocational subjects and courses in applied science. These are the areas that will be the wave of our future. These are the areas in which the future leaders of this country need to be well versed in. It is our goal to provide an education that is useful and meaningful not only today but for many years to come.

(d)What obstacles did you encounter along the way? Any regrets?

One obstacle that we have faced along the way has been the opposition from those leaders and universities that do not want to stray away from the traditional curriculum views. These views have on occasion influenced students and their decisions on where to attend school. This has always been a concern in making sure that enrollment is up and growing.