A Continuing Purpose

About the Book

The writer of the preface to A Continuing Purpose, Dr. Paul McCracken, a 1937 William Penn College alumnus and formerly Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors in the Eisenhower and Nixon administration, calls the book, "a fascinating volume chronicling a piece of Americana in education...".  In some ways, William Penn College's journal through the past three or four decades has been similar to the experience of many colleges and universities in a time of fundamental change in American higher education.

In other ways, however, that journey was different.  The book deals with both, i.e., changes common to most institutions of higher education, and changes that encountered the distinctive nature of Quaker life and thought in the context of a liberal arts college.  And this is where the book begins, i.e., with a discussion of forces that created change, and Quaker influences that attempted to incorporate change while anchoring the college to historic values it did not wish to lose.

This general statement in chapter one, which clearly shows evidence of the author's Quaker background and philosophical commitments, is followed in the succeeding seven chapters by a discussion of changes and developments in key areas of the college's life and program, e.g., admissions, student life, academics, finances, administration, buildings and grounds, and constituency relations.  In each of these areas, forces for change included expanded and more culturally diverse enrollments, technology, the student demand for more "career" oriented academic programs and degrees.  The increasing enrollment of adult and non-traditional students, educational costs and availability of student financial assistance, had rapid expansion of "satellite" campuses and delivery of higher education through fiber optic networks.

The author's association with the college for nearly fifty years as undergraduate student, head of advancement and finally as President gives him an unique position from which to view the broad sweep of the college's history during this time of change.  He makes no attempt to be purely objective in discussing the nature of developments and circumstances in the life of the college, but seeks to be as fair and balanced as possible.

The final chapter is made up of a series of stories about personal happenings in the author's more than three decades in college administration.  The stories are humorous, thoughtful, moving, a bit self-deprecating, and represent a selection of events which, for one reason or another, had special meaning for the author.

About the Author

John Wagoner was born and nurtured in the Iowa Quaker Community. He brings this perspective to the writing of a history of the changes and development during the past thirty-five years in the life of his undergraduate alma mater, William Penn College, from which he graduated in 1958. His graduate degree is from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. He holds honorary doctoral degrees from William Penn College, St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, and Sungshin University. He was invited to return to William Penn College in 1964 to build a development and advancement program. In 1984 the Board of Trustees invited him to accept the position of president, from which he retired in 1995 as President Emeritus. The College's invitation to write this account of its passage through a time of change caps the author's life of service to the church, the college and Quaker higher education.