Pondering points for Hargrave's administration

photo courtesy of Ed Berlien

For the past several years, I have noticed a dramatic increase in the amount of slick promotions Hargrave has invested in to send out requests for monetary donations from Alumni and all those other financial estate planning, endowments, etc.

No doubt the academy has relegated considerable sums to this necessary area of continuing Alumni participation and I am all in favor of this. However, built into this are a number of issues which I feel can be opened up for comment with our Hargrave Alumni Forum participants.

I am particularly dismayed at this very high emphasis on sports, especially the PG football program. To me, the academy seems to be forwarding the overall impression that these salt aways are there to get their grades up for admission to selected universities… and those certainly who have high profile football programs.

All this to be accomplished in six months and certainly nothing more than a full year at the academy only?

I don’t buy into that at all.

Today’s academy administration gives me the personal impression this is the only way on a singular basis to maintain overall enrollment and revenues to keep the academy in existence. I don’t buy into that at all either.

Just this week here on my block in suburban Chicago, three of my neighbors are having their homes either remodeled and/or additions placed onto their structures. Traffic on our somewhat busy street at times is now snarled during daylight hours as we’ve got fifteen or more trucks of all sizes parked there. The vehicle owners are the hard working men and women who provide the skills needed to get the work completed…

Vocational Skills

Even when I was at Hargrave in the Sixties, the main emphasis was having everyone who graduates being accepted to some prestigious university. Same is true I guess today in my view. But how about some, maybe like me who never cared much about that, and/or those of a certain class who didn’t have the grades or aptitude to continue with furthering educational matters. You can certainly put me in that bunch.

So it got me into that dangerous category of thinking about the matter and possibly considering other alternatives Hargrave could consider to accomplish future goals of having high enrollment and the revenues that go along with it. Further, and at the same time maintaining the very high prestige level the academy enjoys to this very day to go along with it’s long storied past.

Personally I feel one has to look no further than Girls & Boys Town in Nebraska. This very famous institution was formed on a humanitarian basis to help disadvantaged children of practically all age groups and this is the basis of their ongoing success. At the very same time, Girls and Boys Town is a self-sufficient organization. Each and every kid of all age groups is required to participate in that self-sufficiency effort by working in all types of environs that gives them a vocational skill of some sort or the other. How many Hargrave cadets today know how to farm or repair plumbing?

Thus, I feel future enrollment prospects could be very well accommodated by having the academy offer vocational courses. Many will feel I’m nuts… personally I don’t care. But here is the greater built in potential.

Major companies such as Home Depot, Lowe’s and others are just dying to lend their support and monies to this kind of idea. My goodness…they can provide guest instructors, help set up vocational training programs, supply tools, equipment, and even if the cards are properly played they can provide endowments to the academy.

Problem is I don’t think anybody other than me has thought about this and/or knows just how to go about it. Well, I do and I can lend my support of exactly showing them how to do it, yet overall me, like most alum’s are ignored of their potential in assisting in the future development of the academy. I have never understood this. The sorry fact is that they only want my money. And as I started off with this possible posting, I quite frankly am not going to donate my funds, which may in fact go towards footing the bill of groceries in feeding some 350 pound-football lineman.

The academy has two routes to go in my estimation in gaining an edge on positive future enrollment. First, the academy can go out and pay some high priced mystery consultant to come in and give advice, but in my view this can come from professional alum’s, just like me, in all fields of endeavors who would be willing to lend their expertise for free. As far as I know of it, Hargrave administration has never solicited this. Why?

To conclude, I feel this overall issue is solid enough to open an ongoing forum and encouraging the very best of positive and/or differing views from those currently involved and those future members of the Forum.

Certainly I would assume the folks in charge of Hargrave today would closely monitor our Forum and see what we are all talking about in our sincere desire to see our famous academy perpetuate itself in these current times.

Fred L. Hardman
fredhardman@comcast.net
hardman@helloworld.com
Chicago, Il
Class of '65