The log cabin Democrat., 1913-06-11
Report of the President of f.endrix College 1912-1913 aa Mp ar AT BoD % & Ms'1,as s5 s5

''.
 our policy" The best authorities on
 college administration agree on this
 Dr. Thwing says: Differences be,
 tween the President and Boards are
 most likely to arise in the diff
 ulty of properly locating responsi- bility. Boards are in danger of hold
 ing the President liable for results
 which he, in turn, thinks are the du-
 ties of the Board. Such difficulty ex-
 ists in the very constitution of most Boards The relation between the President and all the parts of the col lege should be one of cooperation and devotion. The President should be de- voted to every interest of the college, and should cooperate with every agency which works for or in the col lege. No want to him should be un- known, and by him no need should be unrecognized. Knowledge of each de- partment should be his, not only for his own use, but also that he may con- vey the knowledge to others for the more adequate filling of all needs. Trustees are inclined to let the gospel of hope be silent at the shrine of the we'll enough. In the desire to avoid risks, they are prone to take no risks and make no venture. It is largely the old question between conservation and progressiveness, but in this con- test the President must stand for pro- gress. Some colleges, like some coun- tries, seem to be advancing, while oth- CTS are petriied. The President must be found among the advancing forces. No college President that turns his face toward the past only or chiefly should be allowed to hold his place. The college President is not to lord it over Israel, but to lead, to help, to in- spire Israel. The President should be a man uniting openness to suggestion with clearly defined policy and reso- lute independence He knows what the college is, and better than any one else he knows the method by which the supreme or minor ends are to be se- cured. The policy which he holds should not be a general policy equally good for all colleges, because different colleges serve different purposes or se- cure the same purpose by different means.
 Every college President, with all his receptiveness, must clearly put before himself policy for the institution and with the clear definition should be united will sufficiently resolute that policy to execute. He is therefore, to have in himself the elements of a statesman
 Dr. Hyde, the distinguished educa- tional expert, says: Ut is the duty of the Board to invest the funds and to devote the income to the needs for which the institution is established. The expert financier is an indispensa- ble member of every such Board, for the waste or misapplication of funds is absolutely fatal to the life and work of the institution; but the prime quail fication of the President is to have broad educational ideas. It is a se- rious mistake to put the mere finan- cier or the ornate figurehead or the man of popular gifts or the prominent ecclesiastic at the head. These other qualities are desirable, but not essen tial, for a President. The expert financial ability may be supplied from the Trustees; but the Trustees, as a whole, can never give the educational direction to an institution. That should be centered in one person, and that person should be the President The ultimate responsibility for the ed ucational conduct of the institution rests with the President. In munich pal affairs the tendency is more and more toward the standardization of power. This is even more desirable in the conduct of educational institutions The educational autocrat should con suit the reasonable claims of students seek the advice of the faculty, confer with members of the Board, get the views of experts in other institutions but when his mind is made up as re
 suit of these many inquiries and va
 ried alterations, he has a right tC