Franconia College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franconia College was a small liberal arts college in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. It opened in 1963 on the site of The Forest HIlls Hotel on Agassiz Road, and closed in 1978, after years of declining enrollment and increasing financial difficulties.

A small, eclectic faculty provided a diverse education. Franconia College became well-known in 1970, when 23-year-old Leon Botstein became the youngest college president in the country. The largest entering class in 1972 had 400 students. Areas of studies included the fine arts, architecture, performing arts, languages, law, and business. During the 1960s, the college played a small part in the Race for Space.

Franconia College was also the site of "Alternative Education" classes that were the object of study in developing new ways to teach that gave more individualized instruction and more varied opportunities. In 1975, a group of students from the University of Pittsburgh Alternative Curriculum Program toured several New England schools that were offering new and progressive programs, including Franconia College. Several students were invited to come back for a special summer session that included classes for "Sugar Maple Woodlot Management" and "Auto Mechanics." Teachers with local professional experience offered hands-on education and experience with tools of the trade and actual work experience such as the basics of auto tune-ups and learning how to evaluate the woodlot for the healthiest growth of the trees. Students learned how to safely work on cars and use a chain saw to thin the Sugar Maple Woodlots as well as learning how to tap a tree and how to protect ones self from the notorious black flies. One of the students reports that she was able to use the skills and experience learned in the auto mechanics class to hire on as a Jouneyman Marine Machinist repairing diesel engines onboard Navy ships in Alameda California.

Another interesting tidbit: there were several students who were able to enjoy the adventure of living in their own tents and teepees in the nearby woods, then walk to class.

Franconia College became notorious in the late 1960s when William Loeb, publisher of the Manchester Union Leader, vilified the students for behavior that included unmarried persons of the opposite sex sleeping together. The headline "Bare Debauchery at Franconia College: Sex, Liquor, Drugs Rampant on Campus" made the front page of the newspaper the same day a smaller one announced the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Situated north of the White Mountain National Forest, the college provided easy access for students to the outdoor sporting activities for which the North Country is most famous.