What of Our Old, Rural Colleges?

Subject: What of Our Old, Rural Colleges? Thu 05 Jul 2007, 9:30 pm

About twenty years ago, I was reading the Introduction to the general catalog published by the University of Texas at Arlington for that year, which also included a little nostalgia. The catalog expressed how during its early years (perhaps as Grubbs Vocational College; I am uncertain, now, but please see: http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/UU/kcu8.html ), this institution's then near-rural location was a drawing point to Texas families. Parents wanted to be relatively certain that a healthy moral climate would be presented to their children as they left home for the first time in order to further their educations. The small towns with their many academies and colleges often were viewed as being supportive of both intellectual and ethical development, while urban areas -- despite the cultural advantages and resources (libraries, museums, etc.) with which we associate them today -- frequently were perceived as being potentially harmful environments into which to release young adults.

This issue is complex, I know, but in the years since reading the Introduction in UTA's catalog, I have wondered about a couple of things. First, how did the closures of early, educational institutions -- and the shift to the cities as preferred locations for college campuses -- effect the rural areas in which they once had exerted influence? Also, is it time for a reevaluation of the necessity of centralization across the educational spectrum, with the ever-increasing accessibility of distance learning?

Thanks!

Holly
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves

Subject: Re: What of Our Old, Rural Colleges? Thu 05 Jul 2007, 10:39 pm

Hi everyone ... I don't think what I wrote above was very clear. What I really would like to understand is how the passing of such educational institutions as linked to below (and only a couple of very many which could be cited as examples) might have effected their small-town and rural communities .... and thus (perhaps!) the wide, non-urban fabric of our state.

http://www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/schools/TexasFemaleSeminary.htm

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/kbs21.html

Thanks,

Holly
_________________
The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves