EVERGREEN: EVER GREEN?
                                       
   Zandile Nkabinde
   
   Evergreen State College, a 4-year, state-supported, liberal arts
   college, is a survivor, one of the few major experiments in curricular
   innovation arising from the decade of the sixties which remains
   functioning at the beginning of the 90s. Established in 1971 and
   located in a wooded area outside Olympia, its early students were
   inclined toward a less structured approach to studying liberal arts
   than was common in more traditional institutions --especially state
   supported colleges and universities. Investigations by Jones and Smith
   (1984) suggested that little has changed and that while the school now
   awards bachelor's degrees in everything from creative writing to
   marine biology, there are no formal majors nor any letter grades. The
   faculty team-teaches a multidisciplinary core of subjects and gives
   written evaluations of students' work. Despite its nonconformity,
   Evergreen's academic reputation is rated highly in the region by
   college presidents and deans.
   
The Origins of Innovation

   More than 70 years before Evergreen, another college carried the
   banner of innovation into Olympia. In 1891, the Rev. J. R. Chaplin
   platted an area on Cooper Point Peninsula where he hoped to begin a
   utopian community with its own college, People's University. Chaplin
   started his dream closer to downtown Olympia in 1900, hoping to move
   soon. But People's University lasted only until 1906 despite, or
   perhaps because of, new ideas such as emphasizing practical methods of
   learning and offering education to working students. Evergreen owes
   even a greater debt to more recent innovative colleges. Most, if not
   all, of the educational concepts Evergreen now employs were first used
   in experimental programs and institutions as far back as the 1960s
   (Clemens, 1987).
   
   Although nameless until 1968, the idea of a new college in Washington
   State first surfaced in 1964. Richard Jones (1981) concluded that the
   student unrest of the 1960s and the demands it made for improvements
   in the quality of undergraduate teaching resulted in a number of
   state-instituted, "alternative" colleges. Evergreen State College was
   among those colleges which were attempting to explore new ways of
   serving the educational needs of America's young people. These
   colleges also caused much controversy by attempting to challenge the
   status quo. Jones (1981) reported that not all experimental colleges
   have survived as alternative colleges, and those which have survived
   have maintained their integrity as experiments in varying degrees.
   
   The idea for establishing Evergreen State College originated with the
   Council of Presidents, a group composed of the presidents of
   Washington's five public-supported universities and colleges. A report
   issued by the Council in November, 1964, concluded that another
   college was needed to balance the geographical distribution of the
   existing institutions, especially since Western Washington was growing
   at a more rapid rate than the rest of the state. With the University
   of Washington in Seattle and Western Washington State College in
   Bellingham, the Council noted that southwest Washington was the only
   region without a 4-year public college. Based on the Council's
   recommendations, the Washington State Legislature created the
   Temporary Advisory Council on Public Higher Education in 1965. This
   group of legislators, educators and community leaders was charged with
   determining if and when a new college was needed, where it should be
   located and what kind of college it should be (Clemens, 1987).
   
   Evergreen's founding trustees consisted of prominent members of the
   community such as bankers, businessmen, legislators, contractors and
   community activists. These trustees have had a great impact on the
   survival of the experiment. Right from the beginning, they worked hand
   in hand with the educators and state officials in sharing decisions.
   For instance, the hiring of Evergreen's first president and the
   initial group of administrators rested in their hands. In 1967 the
   state of Washington inaugurated this new 4-year college. The state
   capital, Olympia, was chosen as the site. The board of trustees hired
   Charles McCann, then dean of the faculty at Central Washington State
   College as the first president of Evergreen (Jones and Smith 1984). He
   in turn, with the support and encouragement of the trustees, made his
   initial choices based on a strategy for constructive change. First
   aboard were the vice presidents: Dean Clabaugh, the College's
   executive director, as vice president for business; Joe Shoben, from
   the State University of New York at Buffalo, as executive vice
   president; and Dave Barry as vice president for academics. Jones
   (1981) reported that administrators were hired and told to recruit a
   small and distinguished group of planning faculty. Evergreen's three
   founding deans were Mervyn Cadwallader; Don Humphrey, who had headed
   an interdisciplinary science program at Oregon State University; and
   Charles Teske, who had experience with independent learning at Oberlin
   College (McHenry, 1977).
   
   The Evergreen State College 20-year report (1987) concluded that with
   the assistance of farsighted legislative funding, McCann, Barry and
   the original deans were able to hire 18 faculty members prior to
   opening day, 1971. Jones (1981) reported that the 18 members of the
   planning faculty, which were given the academic year of 1970-71 to
   design the college's specific policies and programs, were carefully
   recruited for their experience in experimental education. The founding
   faculty included advocates of the western classics, self-paced and
   collaborative learning, independent study, cooperative and wilderness
   education, and several veterans of Cadwallader's interdisciplinary
   programs at San Jose State and Old Westbury.
   
   Yet even though Evergreen was established because there was a regional
   need for such a college, there was one advocate in particular who made
   this dream possible. His name was Mervyn Cadwallader, a disciple of
   Alexander Meiklejohn and an ally of John Tussman. Cadwallader had
   previously directed an experimental program at San Jose State College
   which imitated a Tussman innovation at UC Berkeley. Jones (1981)
   commented that Dean Cadwallader emerged as Evergreen's first
   acknowledged visionary. His strength was his ability to envision and
   articulate the academic objectives for Evergreen. While the college's
   first president, Charles McCann, was a powerful advocate of
   individualized education and innovation, he initiated no particular
   innovations of his own (Jones, 1981). He remained Evergreen's leader
   for 9 years and was followed by the former governor, Dan Evans, in
   1977.
   
The Meiklejohn-Tussman Connection

   Jones stated that in the autumn of 1970 a small book, Experiment at
   Berkeley, by Joseph Tussman was read and discussed by 18 men who had
   been invited to Olympia, Washington, to design an alternative college.
   This experience was to have a decisive influence on the development of
   one of the most revealing experiments in the history of American
   higher education. Cadwallader, who suggested that they read the book,
   was greatly inspired by Tussman's moral curriculum. He was hoping that
   the planning faculty at Evergreen would find the Tussman program
   appealing and adopt it. To his surprise none of the planning faculty
   included this moral curriculum in the first year's offerings.
   Tussman's innovative program resembled Alexander Meiklejohn's
   experimental college at the University of Wisconsin. Both irony and
   serendipity suffuse this Meiklejohn- Tussman- Evergreen lineage
   (Jones, 1981). The annals of Evergreen have shown that Tussman was
   primarily attracted to Meiklejohn's model on curricular grounds, its
   concern with "initiation in the great political vocations." He sought
   to achieve this objective by studying some of the seminal works of
   classical Greece, 17th-century England, and the United States Supreme
   Court. Investigations by Jones suggested that it was not, however, the
   curricular innovation of these two men which claimed the imaginations
   of the Evergreen planning faculty in 1970. What influenced them most
   was the pedagogical innovation which both men employed in their
   curricular objectives: substituting the traditional format of separate
   teachers, courses, and times, for the creation of groups of students,
   who are all studying the same things at the same time, over a
   prolonged period (Jones, 1981).
   
   The history of the Meiklejohn-Tussman experiments confirms that
   Evergreen was not a radical new invention. Instead it was the
   continuation of an educational strategy which was first tried at the
   University of Wisconsin in the 1920s, and then at San Jose State, and
   then at Berkeley just a few years before it was eventually tried at
   Olympia.
   
  Founding Purposes
  
   Evergreen State College was created to be a different, nontraditional
   institution, one which did not duplicate the other regional colleges.
   The planning faculty were given 1 year to decide what kind of college
   it would be. Furthermore they were to prepare a curriculum for
   October, 1971, when the first one thousand students would begin.
   
   The purposes for creating the college as described by Jones and Smith
   (1984) included the following elements:
   
   1. To serve the needs of Southwest Washington where much of the
   demographic growth was expected. The authorization bill referred to
   Evergreen as "Southwest Washington State College" in language which
   paralleled the authorizations of the other three regional
   institutions; Western, Central, and Eastern.
   
   2. To provide services to state government and its employees. The
   selection of Olympia, the capital city, as the site for the new
   college seemed to give the planners this additional function.
   
   3. To develop an innovative structure that would not simply duplicate
   the existing academic resources of the state. The State Senator who
   headed the Temporary Advisory Council of Public Education (which
   recommended the new college) stated at the first meeting of the
   incipient Board of Trustees, "It was not the intent of the Legislature
   that this be just another 4-year college; it is a unique opportunity
   to meet the needs of the students of today and the future because the
   planning will not be bound by any rigid structure of tradition as are
   the existing colleges, nor by any overall central authority, as is the
   case in many states."
   
   "The basic structure of our coordinated studies program," Jones (1984)
   wrote, "follows Tussman's model to the letter." It was
   multidisciplinary and theme oriented; it depended on small, intensive
   seminars; and there were common reading lists and schedules. At
   Berkeley, however, Mr. Tussman's experiment was one small program in a
   large institution, as Mr. Meiklejohn's had been at Wisconsin. At
   Evergreen ten coordinated-studies programs are offered each year and
   form the focus of the entire curriculum. And at Evergreen, apparently,
   the structure has achieved its critical mass (The Chronicle, 1984).
   
  Current Demographics
  
   The original student body of 1,000 in 1971 included a fair number of
   hippie types. The Chronicle of Higher Education (November 14:1984)
   reported that the academic year 1976-1977 saw the peak enrollment of
   2530 headcount, and then the enrollment began to drop. True, its
   enrollment has never approached the figure of 10,000 that was
   originally predicted. In 1986 the enrollment reached 2,838 which was
   the largest ever. The total enrollment for fall 1990 was 3,310. Of
   these, 3,125 were undergraduate students and 185 were graduate
   students. Fifty-seven percent are women, 43 percent are men. The
   student body is increasing and the college seems to be attracting more
   women than men. The focus remains principally upon undergraduate
   students.
   
   According to the Evergreen State College Institutional Report (1989)
   there were 153 full-time regular faculty in 1989 and 30 part-time
   adjunct faculty. Jones (1981) reported that because of declining
   enrollment Evergreen has been able to staff some programs at a 1 to 15
   faculty-student ratio. While an ominous trend for the college, this
   has been good for the experiment.
   
   A brief overview of the student body underscores the diversity of
   Evergreen students. The first student body in 1971 was composed of
   students from 35 Washington counties, 41 states, and 3 foreign
   countries (Clemens, 1987). There were various reasons for students to
   choose such a college. Some were discontent with previous college
   experiences, some believed they could do their own thing, some were
   simply looking for something different. But all held one thing in
   common: taking risks. They entered a college with no history, a very
   mixed image and still in the process of defining itself. At least
   faculty and staff were being paid for risk taking. In a sense the
   first Evergreen students were the true pioneers.
   
   Most scholarly articles praise Evergreen for its dedicated faculty and
   emphasis on to teaching. Seventy-four percent of the faculty hold the
   Ph.D. or its equivalent. Males teachers outnumber their female
   counterparts by a 2:1 ratio. Dr. Charles McCann, former dean of the
   faculty at Central Washington State College and an articulate
   spokesman for individualizing the college learning experience was
   selected to be the first president of Evergreen College. McHenry
   (1977) explained that most faculty members were hired because of a
   special competency which this new college needed. The three founding
   deans all matched this model. Mervyn Cadwallader, an exponent of the
   "moral curriculum," was hired because he had experience with
   interdisciplinary study at San Jose and SUNY Old Westbury. Charles
   Teske had experience administering independent study at Oberlin. And
   Don Humphrey had built a reputation for imaginative interdisciplinary
   work in the sciences at Oregon State. Other faculty members were
   attracted to the College because of their quest for a place to teach
   that emphasized classroom contact with students rather than faculty
   research in the lab. The Olympia campus is partially residential; 27
   percent of the students live on the campus in 11 residences and 19
   modular duplexes. The rest live nearby in rural houses or in the
   communities of Olympia, Lacey, or Tumwater. There is a regular bus
   service between the campus and Olympia. The geographical location of
   the college meets the needs of its students. The College is situated
   on 1,000 acres of woods and hills and has a 3,300-foot waterfront
   (salt water) just outside the city of Olympia, Washington's capital.
   The campus, most of which is forested with alder, maple, and douglas
   fir, has trails for walking, jogging, and bicycling. The beach
   provides a perfect place for strolling, sunbathing, and marine
   research. Enrollment is currently just above 3000 students.
   Eighty-five percent are full-time. Students are diverse by age: 51
   percent are between 18-24 years of age; 34 percent are 30 years or
   older. The median age is 25.
   
  Financial Base
  
   The original source of funds for the College came from the state. In
   fact, it became the first and only publicly funded institution of
   higher education founded in the State of Washington in the 20th
   century. Jones and Smith stated that every year since 1970 there had
   been at least one bill introduced into the Legislative hopper to close
   Evergreen, turn it into state offices or at least a southern branch of
   the University of Washington. But the College has survived, in spite
   of recurrent bills to abolish it. The reasons for its survival may be
   based on the support it receives from the community. Among some of the
   legislators the College is seen as a resource and an asset. The
   college has also become a very positive force in the community and
   enjoys a healthy relationship with the city of Olympia. Another reason
   for its survival may be the fact that it serves as a
   continuing-education center for state employees and others based in
   Olympia. When the College was first established it had the support of
   the state governor, Dan Evans, who later became the second president
   of the College. That may have had a great impact on the survival of
   the College.
   
   Joseph Olander, who became the third president from 1985 till present,
   claims that public funding has eroded for new and existing curricular
   programs, faculty development, library acquisitions, financial aid,
   student services, and access to current equipment. He argues that 20
   years ago, Washington State spent twice as much per capita on higher
   education as the rest of the country. He contends that today, although
   its expenditures have increased slightly, Washington state ranks 22nd
   out of 50 states. Evergreen is a College, says Olander, whose
   resources must grow if the future promise of its founding dream is to
   be fulfilled.
   
   According to College records, in 1985-86, Evergreen received more than
   $1.3 million in gifts and grants, topping the million-dollar mark for
   the first time. The amount of $24,049,007 was the total for all
   revenues, including $3,505,474 from student tuition and fees, and
   $13,223,820 state appropriations. But fund raising efforts over the
   next 10 years must increase ten-fold if Evergreen is to go forward.
   The College must seek more support from foundations that believe in
   the Evergreen dream and want to continue to take risks in its behalf
   (Clemens, 1987).
   
   Tuition for 1986-87 was $1,212 for an in-state student and $4,206 for
   nonresidents. Projected annual undergraduate tuition for 1991-92 is
   $1,611 for residents and $5,649 for non-residents. The estimated cost
   of books and supplies is $500. The cost of room and board is
   approximately $3400, and personal expenses are estimated at $1200.
   
  Student Involvement
  
   Evergreen is a learning community whose mission revolves principally
   around its academic mission. Therefore, all other aspects of life at
   Evergreen should not only support the process of teaching and
   learning, but enhance them as well. There are no community service
   projects. Students work hand in hand with their faculty members and
   the administration. Decision making and governance is a joint effort.
   "Our student-centered philosophy and definition of community has
   involved students, faculty and staff in the governance process from
   the very beginning," says Larry Stenberg (Jones 1981). He further
   stated that campus-wide governance has expanded the learning process
   beyond the classroom and created a better understanding of Evergreen
   and how it functions. Also the College has given students a
   significant role in planning their education through such activities
   as scheduling and textbook selections.
   
   According to the school prospectus (1990-91), each year the federal
   government awards the College money to create student jobs. The State
   of Washington subsidizes career or academically-related employment for
   students who need such services.The state work study program at
   Evergreen is used for both on and off-campus positions. Student
   teaching is another area which allows students to use their skills.
   
   Students do evaluate faculty members, through portfolios and narrative
   evaluations of their instructors. However, student participation as
   far as voting for faculty retention or dismissal is very minimal.
   Since the faculty has limited time for research, seldom do students
   get involved in scholarly research work.
   
  Student Profiles
  
   Evergreen is committed to admitting students of diversity. Its low
   tuition of $3,550 a year, may be another contributing factor to its
   popularity among the masses. The College seeks qualified students who
   demonstrate a spirit of inquiry and a willingness to participate in
   their educational process within a collaborative framework. The
   College has certain admissions standards, but they are not highly
   selective. The College is also interested in attracting students who
   express an interest in campus or community involvement, a respect and
   tolerance for individual differences, and a willingness to experiment
   with innovative modes of teaching and learning. Lowest acceptable
   secondary school class standing is 50th percentile. Other college
   entrance exams like SAT or GRE may be considered but they are not
   required.
   
   Since Evergreen seeks to achieve a diverse student body, special
   consideration has been given recently to ethnic minorities and
   nontraditional students. The policy which went into effect in the fall
   of 1990, replaced one in which students from the top 50 percent of
   their class were admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis
   (Gabelnick, Matthews, & Smith 1990). Evergreen has historically sought
   to reserve some number of spaces in each class for students who have
   not excelled in high school or college, but who may adapt favorably to
   a noncompetitive, interdisciplinary academic environment.
   
  Educational Programs
  
   Evergreen's curriculum eventually offered students four primary ways
   of earning credits:
   
   1. The year-long coordinated studies programs typically involve: one
   group lecture, two days of smaller seminars, and perhaps two workshops
   or laboratory sessions during a week. Most are created and led by
   three to five faculty members representing various disciplines. They
   divide their responsibilities in advance by preparing contracts that
   set out the duties of each member of the team; students also sign
   contracts detailing their obligations. Faculty members spend the
   better part of one day a week in a faculty seminar, debating and
   discussing among themselves a topic related to the program.
   
   2. Group contracts allow a group of students to organize a course of
   particular interest to them with a willing faculty member or team of
   faculty members. The course can last from one to three quarters.
   
   3. Individual contracts permit individual students to study topics of
   their own choice with a single faculty member's sponsorship.
   
   4. Internships, which the college encourages, give upperclassmen
   opportunities to gain experience in off-campus jobs.
   
   The College also offers courses that are more conventional. Subjects
   that do not lend themselves to thematic development in seminars, and
   subjects that are best learned sequentially, do not fare well in the
   coordinated-studies format. Jones (1981) reports that, "We should not
   despair if the mathematicians and linguists continue to teach
   courses." Reaffirmation is a continually recurring theme in the
   lexicon and literature of Evergreen from 1971 to 1986. Accordingly
   there have been significant changes in the curriculum. According to a
   self-evaluation report, although a program may be offered annually, it
   is never twice the same. The evolution of the curriculum, in fact,
   began almost as soon as Evergreen opened. The most prominent feature
   of Evergreen's arts and science education is a curricular commitment
   to interdisciplinary teaching and learning, not only in team-taught
   coordinated studies, but also in thematically coherent group and
   individual contracts. Significant themes and problems promote
   engagement in study by both students and faculty. It is more important
   that students reap the benefits of studies growing from among
   different fields than that they merely acquire specialized knowledge
   or cover a body of knowledge. Disciplinary background and sound
   consistent academic advice become crucial aids to success (Evergreen
   Report, 1986).
   
   The College has attempted to emphasize third world perspectives
   throughout the curriculum. There have also been three developments
   which have influenced the curriculum to this day: the realization that
   "real-world" themes provide the most powerful focus for coordinated
   studies, the creation of group contracts for specialized learning, and
   the establishment of the Office of Cooperative Education to find more
   placements for interns (Jones, 1981). Interdisciplinary work has been
   considered the academic key to linking theory and practice, especially
   if it leads to internships, research, and public service projects. One
   of the factors that contributes to student involvement in the
   educational program is the part they play in curriculum development.
   At Evergreen there are dedicated bulletin boards throughout the
   College where curricular ideas are constantly submitted for public
   view. This allows the students to share their views with regard to
   curriculum development. The curriculum is subject to change all the
   time. But while refining the content and structure of its curriculum,
   and expanding services to southwest Washington and state government
   since its beginning, Evergreen has remained remarkably true to the
   founding vision of a student-centered, interdisciplinary education in
   the liberal arts.
   
   At Evergreen it is essential that students receive as much individual
   attention as possible. For example, students regularly organize and
   conduct book seminars where they read and discuss a book related to
   their program. The purpose of this exercise is to examine a reading
   assignment in relation to the program theme. But there are other
   benefits. Students learn how to work together as a group by paying
   attention to issues of equivalent participation and relating to
   implied faculty authority. The seminars are small, and students
   customarily take responsibility for certain parts of the reading and
   discussion. They are designed to be truly interactive and give
   students practice in problem-solving and group dynamics.
   
   Core Programs are coordinated study programs especially planned for
   first year students. While each core program has a theme, they all
   expose students to interdisciplinary learning, to certain learning
   skills, and to the Evergreen approach which places so much
   responsibility on the individual student to both learn, teach, work
   collaboratively, and to shed any need for competitiveness when it
   comes to scholarship.
   
   Individual learning contracts are examples of where a student and
   faculty member work on a one-to-one basis. The contract may include
   reading, painting, photography, research, field studies or any
   activity that involves the student in individualized learning. These
   are more common for advanced students with well-defined goals.
   Internships are similar to Individual Learning Contracts. There is a
   one-to-one relationship with a faculty member, but also with a field
   supervisor.
   
   Evaluation is another special part of the academic structure and
   student/teacher relationship. Although there are no grades, there are
   regular individual evaluation sessions where the teacher and student
   share and discuss a written evaluation of the student's activity in
   the course. The student also prepares a written evaluation of the
   faculty member. That evaluation goes to the Dean after it has been
   discussed by the student with the faculty member. The student has to
   make a transition from passive learning to active learning.
   
   Perhaps the most serious problem for a faculty member, particularly in
   this teaching-centered institution, is maintaining contact with the
   profession and personal advancement. The college is acutely aware of
   this problem. Most faculty members agree that the problem of staying
   current is real and that the Evergreen curricular structure makes it
   difficult to provide a reduced teaching load in order to facilitate
   part-time research.
   
   Self-Studies
   
   According to an Evergreen self-evaluation (1986), this institution has
   had its problems over the years. The college is fully accredited by
   the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, even though it
   endures much criticism by many traditional academicians.
   
   The early years of the College were years of prosperity amid
   controversy. Student demand was very high, and yet some powerful
   legislators threatened to close Evergreen even before the College
   opened. In addition the local press was less than favorable, the
   college benefitted from positive, national exposure.
   
   The early period of posterity did not last long. A lack of careful
   enrollment analyses and the external environment masked subtle changes
   until the situation reached crisis proportions. The College tackled
   the problem head on in the fall of 1978 by commissioning a committee
   to make recommendations. In February of 1979 the committee submitted
   its report, the first attempt to develop a marketing plan for
   Evergreen. In the fall of that year a comprehensive marketing plan
   went into effect. The plan included very specific strategies for
   recruiting new students and increasing public awareness. Indeed, the
   consistent increases of new students, the higher retention of current
   students, and the excellent press Evergreen has received, indicate
   that the implementation of this plan has benefited Evergreen
   considerably.
   
   The College has survived in spite of frequent legislative attempts to
   abolish it (the most recent in April 1983). Moreover, Evergreen has
   prospered and is still evolving. During 1985-86 a strategic planning
   process reaffirmed many of the College's visions, values and
   aspirations. Some were ideals that finally had become reality. Others,
   like the "issues carousel" (a set of revolving concerns) have
   continued as works-in-progress (Clemens, 1987).
   
   The College persists in striving for the lofty goals of the 1967
   visionaries, but as Provost Hill points out, the added challenge is to
   work even harder now so that Evergreen is accepted. Maintaining an
   innovative spirit and commitment to excellence is demanding in the
   face of finite resources, increasing enrollment pressures, uncertain
   economy, and a wavering of faith in higher education across the
   country. Recent reports on the national crisis in education call for a
   reaffirmation of many of the fundamental Evergreen principles. Many
   feel the time is right for education--Evergreen style (Clemens, 1987).
   
  External Evaluation
  
   From a national perspective Evergreen State College enjoys an
   increasingly favorable reputation as one of the finest liberal arts
   colleges in the nation. The November 28, 1983 issue of U.S. News and
   World Report (1987) published the findings of their survey of 1,308
   4-year undergraduate schools. A total of 162 responded, selecting top
   schools in five categories of liberal arts colleges that grant
   bachelor's degrees. In the category of smaller comprehensive
   universities with regional reputations that emphasize the liberal
   arts, Evergreen State College was ranked first in the Midwest and
   West.
   
   In September 1984, Parade magazine carried an article written by Lisa
   Birnbach, citing Evergreen as one of: "the 10 best-kept secrets among
   American colleges." "Two years earlier, Seventeen had proclaimed
   Evergreen along with a handful of other colleges to be a "hidden gem"
   in higher education. The media has projected a very favorable image
   for Evergreen nationally. The alumni of the College have also been
   instrumental in promoting positive public relations for the College.
   
   The consistent support of state funds is one reason for the viability
   of Evergreen. For instance, the college does not need to make a profit
   in order to survive. Political influence has had a great impact on the
   survival of Evergreen. The former governor of Washington state and the
   now U.S. Senator Dan Evans, was the second president of the college in
   1977-1983. During his term of office he also employed his political
   credibility and skill as an orator in an ongoing campaign to inform
   the public about the uniqueness of Evergreen. His contributions have
   had a lasting effect in propelling this college forward.
   
   The College has also served the needs of the Olympia community and has
   found a true friend in this city. Some community members have even
   gone to the extent of forming "Friends of the College" who have made
   large contributions to Evergreen during turbulent times. There are
   many publications and books written about the college and this has
   helped Evergreen immensely.
   
   The survival of the College also stems from involved founders who
   remain committed to their dreams even now. Some of them are still
   faculty members at the College or support it in various ways. For
   example, one member of the original planning group, Richard Jones, is
   still a faculty member at Evergreen. The first president Charles
   McCann was there long enough to leave a lasting impression on the
   College. Nine years of service helped his predecessors to see a
   tangible pattern to follow. The College also has devoted alumni which
   help to maintain its viability.
   
  Conclusions
  
   Evergreen has focused more on effective teaching than student
   outcomes. With dedicated teachers such an approach to teaching can
   produce independent, intelligent thinkers. At Evergreen students are
   encouraged to get involved and to apply their knowledge in a proactive
   way. Therefore, students not only learn but they also initiate.
   Evergreen still retains most of its distinctive features. For example,
   the Evergreen innovation to operate without academic departments is
   still sound and alive. Letter grades continue to be taboo and written
   evaluations are the norm. Evergreen is still committed to
   collaborative teaching as its primary pedagogical mode. Students who
   choose Evergreen seem to hold similar values such as serving other
   people, a purpose in life, and making the world a better place to
   live.