Cardinal Stritch College: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

The study represents An Analysis of the Metamorphosis of a Small, Catholic Liberal Arts College and Its Adaptation to Change over the Past Forty Years, Made to Provide a Frame of Reference for Planning Institutional Development. In it, the writer (a) presents an-in-depth history of Cardinal Stritch College and its academic programs over the years, 1932-1972, and (b) utilizes generalizations derived from the findings to outline an evaluation model that may prove helpful to similar private schools. Particular attention is given to curriculum and instruction--as these elements relate to a college\u27s educational mission. The first five chapters present a case study of Stritch as it operated at the old campus during its first thirty years and at its new campus for the next ten. To provide a frame of reference for planning future development, the writer focused upon the basic factors which must be considered in the administrative and academic functions of any independent school--namely, institutional organization, academic programs, faculty and students, physical plant, financial matters, public relations and recruitment, and the development program. Because so many national authorities have stressed the importance of distinctive institutional characteristics and unique learning opportunities, Chapter Six is devoted to Present Academic Program Strengths of Stritch, 1972. Chapters Seven and Eight, in turn, look to the years ahead with regard to: (a) four major concerns--students, faculty, facilities, and finances; and (b) the College\u27s Prospectus for Progress, respectively. Implications of \u27The Stritch Story\u27 Pertinent to Institutional Planning is the subject of Chapter Nine. Here, the writer sought to delineate the elements required for a fairly stable planning model giving due recognition to realistic restrictions on a college\u27s actual and potential resources. After careful study, research, and reflection, he has concluded that the major variables are to important and so influential that what an institution of higher education needs in order to remain viable is an over-all strategy of flexibility and adaptability to change