Academic freedom and responsibility1

Abstract

It is an honor to be present on this distinguished occasion when Bridgewater College celebrates her seventy-fifth birthday. The past spring in Albany, New York, I assisted in the celebration of a triple anniversary of educational birthdays in New York state. A few weeks later I was one of those who helped celebrate the 300th birthday of Columbia University. All in all, it is a pleasant business, even if to prepare a speech one may not take his ease. First, may I extend official greetings and felicitations from George Peabody College for Teachers to Bridgewater College. While Peabody has educational ancestry extending back to 1785, yet more properly we call 1875 our birthday and are thus just enough older than Bridgewater College to feel a little more settled. And yet I believe President Bowman will agree with me that a private or denominational or independent college one not tax-supported is never quite settled or secure financially. (A Protestant minister whose church board was insisting on increasing his salary finally said to the church officers, Please do not increase my salary. I have trouble enough raising what you pay me now. That is how independent we both are.) From time to time we at Peabody have had students of the Church of the Brethren faith, a number of whom have been alumni of Bridgewater. We find them uniformly of good character, friendly and studious. We invite you to send us more. From them we learn to appreciate members of your faith and alumni of your college. They may learn on the Peabody campus to understand better those of other backgrounds and nationalities.