University Business December 2006 - (Page 76)

END NOTE Motherly Advice One college president's vision for guiding her son through the college selection process. By Laura Skandera Trombley O eagerly await my counsel with enormous en- V E R THE YEARS MY SON thusiasm. He will hang on my every word. Sparkey, now 10, has voiced sev- Remember, this is the dream version. eral different career aspirations. My advice will be to look for a college At five, becoming a Power Ranger specifi- like Pitzer and to investigate the objectives cally the red one was a must do; at six he and values of the institution and determine wanted to become a fireman who lived in a if what they say is what they do. He should station located near our home so he could seek a challenging curriculum, international be on time for breakfast; during the past few study, clean and safe facilities, intramurals years he has wavered between becoming an and athletics, and opportunities for engage- architect or a professional Lego builder. ment in student government and institu- To my ears, what I am hearing is that he tional governance. I will, most importantly, is a perfect candidate for a liberal arts educa- Laura Skandera advise him to seek a college with an extraor- tion. Naturally, I am biased. As president of Trombley dinary faculty who will partner with him Pitzer College Calif. , a liberal arts college in his personal learning journey; in other specializing in the social sciences and inter- I'll advise him to find a words, a college that will regard him as I do: national study, I can easily envision him as college that sees him as a as a treasure, as his own person, and not as a a happy incoming first-year student. As a treasure his own person, statistic. Then he'll nod affirmatively, thank mother, I would love to be able to observe not a statistic. me for my advice, and give me a big hug. firsthand my only child's transformative ed- This conversation may not play out as I ucational experience. Reality, though as imagine it, but I hope the fact he has grown welcoming remarks. As I looked around at all parents recognize is often very differ- up on a liberal arts campus surrounded by the nervous seniors and emotional parents, ent from our fond imaginings. faculty whose central focus is to inspire, ed- the two sides of my life as mother and presi- Over the past four years, Pitzer has ex- ucate, and encourage young people figures dent came together in a single moment. I perienced an application increase of 48 per- strongly in his decision-making process. told the parents where I had just been and cent, improving selectivity from 57 percent In concluding my On Campus Day talk, shared with the students that their parents to 37 percent, thus making it one of the I assured the assembled parents that my hope could still see them at that age joyously 30 most selective liberal arts institutions in for their children is the same as my hope singing. What's more, their parents had to the nation. While this certainly places the for Sparkey. The college experience should be utterly shocked by just how quickly all institution in an enviable position, gaug- begin with a conversation between a student those years evaporated and how all too soon ing from the reaction from prospective and a faculty member. This dialogue will their former fourth-graders were about to parents and students, our success can be a prove challenging and inspirational for both leave home. I shared my dream version of bit daunting to their hopes for acceptance. parties and will continue long after gradu- the conversation I would have with my son Emotions and collective familial stress runs ation. Whatever choice these parents' chil- when, in eight years, he is a high school high, particularly from the high school dren make, that my child makes, we need to senior. It's a conversation I have already re- sophomore to senior years. remember: the future belongs to them. Our hearsed in my mind many times. Pitzer's annual spring On-Campus Day responsibility as parents is to support them for admitted students and their parents, by no matter what they decide. MOTHERSON CONVERSATION coincidence, invariably falls on my son's I will invite Sparkey to come have a chat birthday. Last year I spent the first part of with me. After texting his friends that he my morning listening to my son's fourth- won't be able to see them because he prefers grade class sing him Happy Birthday. Laura Skandera Trombley is president of Pitzer my company to theirs, he will sit down and Then I drove to the college to deliver my College in Claremont, Calif. 76 | December 2006 www.universitybusiness.com EndNt1206.indd 76 11/17/06 4:00:18 PM http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business December 2006

Table of Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Future Shock
Admissions
Financial Aid
On the Hill
EDUCAUSE 2006 Highlights
Technology Spending Survey '07
101 Smart Revenue Generators (and Money-Saving Ideas)
Parking: A Lot To Look At
Engaging Alumni Online
One River, Not Two Streams
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business December 2006