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By Al Pheley
Al Pheley is director of the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public
Policy and Service.
With great fanfare, President Gerald R. Ford visited the Albion
College campus in October 1977 to dedicate the Institute for Public
Service to be named in his honor. “I was a student at Albion College
when President Ford came to campus,” reminisces Joseph Calvaruso,
’78, Ford Institute Visiting Committee member. “I still remember the
day that I sat in the first row of the balcony in Goodrich Chapel
hearing him speak and later getting the opportunity to shake his
hand as he crossed the Quad. Throughout the years, I heard him speak
on a number of occasions, helped facilitate his birthday celebration
in Grand Rapids, and had the privilege to help the president on his
final journey home to Grand Rapids. I am awestruck by the compassion
and integrity of this gentle man and am proud that Albion College
continues his legacy.”
Thirty years ago, in fall 1978, the
inaugural class of the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Service
arrived on campus to fulfill President Ford’s vision that “the best
hope of strengthening our moral fiber not only in but outside of
government” is through public service. Now, more than 600 graduates
later, the Institute continues to evolve as it strives to meet the
vision of President Gerald Ford and of the Institute founders, and the
challenges of our ever-changing and more global society.
(Photo above) President Gerald
Ford greets students during his fall 1977 visit to Albion to
announce the establishment of the institute that would bear his
name. |
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Even
the name has evolved to the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Policy and Service, a change that more fully reflects the significance of public policy and the breadth of students participating in the program. Traditionally, history and political science majors comprised the majority of Ford students. But today through lifelong activism and service to their communities, many students from other areas are seeing the importance of engaged citizenship. The result? We now encounter greater interest from students in the sciences, as well as journalism, the fine arts, and almost every other major on campus.
At the same time, more students are participating in multiple concentrations, examining the influence of policy on business management with the Carl A. Gerstacker Liberal Arts Institute for Professional Management, sustainability with the Institute for the Study of the Environment, school reform with the Fritz Shurmur Education Institute, and health issues with the Liberal Arts Institute for Premedical and Health Care Studies. This broadening of interests not only benefits the individual, but enriches the learning environment through the diversity it brings to the classroom and the College in general. Matthew Keck, ’96, Visiting Committee member and assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan, reinforces the importance of the Institute’s diversity. “The thing that I love most about the Ford Institute is that it takes students from many different areas-not just political science majors-and it teaches students to be active in their community.”
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