Christopher Nelson has been president of St. John?s College in Annapolis since 1991. After graduating from the college in 1970, he went to the University of Utah?s College of Law, where he founded and directed the university?s student legal services program. He practiced law in Chicago for 18 years before returning to St. John?s College as president.
Q St. John?s mandatory “great books” program requires all undergraduates to read works by many of literature?s finest and most famous writers. But the program has been criticized as being outdated. Have you considered changing or abandoning the curriculum?
A The program is changing all the time. The books have changed quite a bit from the beginning, and the authors have changed. More than half the books today are different from the ones in 1937, when the program was brought to the college. About 30 percent of the authors are different. I would be very surprised if we abandoned the model of an all-required curriculum. We are trying to introduce our students to some of the finest, greatest minds who have written texts that we think are timeless and have influenced the development of civilization. But I can imagine that, as time moves on and we learn more things, the program will evolve.
Q Do you think students miss out by not having majors?
A Everything in the world is going to push [students] into specialization later on. What we want them to do is to get the richest, deepest and broadest exposure to the world, so they can make those choices in an informed way. What we are trying to do is give them material that will help train their minds to think well both about every challenge they?ll face and also about the foundations of things.
Q What do the majority of graduates go on to do?
A It?s very much like the graduates of other strong liberal arts colleges. If there is a difference it would be that a larger number of our students go into entrepreneurial pursuits because they develop an independence of mind. [Many go] into teaching because they have grown to love the classroom. The classroom at St. John?s comes alive. If there is anything we?ve done well it?s to banish the blight of higher education, which is the passivity of students. Our students are active, eager learners in the classroom.
Q St. John?s does not participate in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, a respected annual review of the nation?s colleges, and you have spoken out against the rankings. What is your objection?
A I don?t think it provides an accurate picture of what happens at the schools. What U.S. News and World Report does is restrict choice because it pretends that there is a metric out that that makes some sense ? that there are 10 or 15 things that we are going to measure and on a single scale say what colleges are better or worse. What we hope for our students is a love of learning. How do you measure the quality of love? Can you put that on a scale? It doesn?t make a lot of sense.
Q Did the shootings at Virginia Tech cause you to re-examine emergency response on campus?
A Virginia Tech serves as a humble reminder to all of us that there but for the grace of God go we. Everybody on every college campus in the country needs tomake sure its own emergency response times are in place. We?ve already met to look at text messaging and cell phones [as a way to send emergency notifications to students].
Q Has it caused you to look at intervention with students who have behavioral problems?
A Our students look out for one another, and we have a strong group of counselors and psychiatrists. In the past when we?ve seen students with difficult emotional and mental health problems, people have come to us, and we?ve taken action.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
» Francis Scott Key, lyricist of the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
» Ahmet Ertegun, founded Atlantic Records in 1947.
» Hillary Fields, romance novelist; won the Pushcart Prize for a short story in 1998.
» Jac Holzman, founded Elektra Records in 1950 while a student at St. John?s.
» Alexander Contee Hanson, congressman for Maryland?s 3rd District, 1813-1816.
» David Schwarz, award-winning architect, designed the Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas.
» Ray Cave, former editor of Time Magazine.
» Tommy Turner, former dean of the School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University.
» Lisa Simeone, host, National Public Radio.
» Edwin Warfield, governor of Maryland, 1904?1908.
» Francis Thomas, governor of Maryland, 1842-1844; member of House of Representatives, 1861-1869.
» Glenn Yarbrough, original lead tenor of The Limeliters.
» Lee David Zlotoff, creator of TV?s MacGyver.
FAST FACTS
» Founded: 1696 as King William?s School and chartered in 1784 as St. John?s College. There is another campus in Santa Fe, N.M., and students are encouraged to take classes at both colleges.
» Student-faculty ratio: 8-1.
» AverageSAT of freshmen: Verbal, 650-750; Math, 580-670.
» Enrollment: 500 undergraduates (19 percent of the student body are Marylanders).
» Tuition: $36,346.
» Room and board: $8,684.
» One undergraduate degree granted: Bachelor of Arts.
» Student nickname: Johnnies.
