.- History students: High achievers More than 100 students participated in the American Studies Program, attending meetings with special speakers brought to campus and touring cities of industrial , historical and educational inter.est. 'The purpose of the American Stud ies Program is to develop a better understanding of and appreciation for the American way of life ," said Dr. Clifton Ganus Jr ., who became director of the program after Dr. Billy Ray Cox left Harding during the summer. 'The indi viduals who visit the campus each year are carefully chosen and must be individuals who wi ll enunciate clearly those basic ideals and principles upon which our American way of life is founded," exp lained Dr. Ganus. Lectureship series The American Studies Program for 1979-80 brought an imp ressive slate of guest speakers to campus. The fall semester li st included Leon Sizemore, a Harding alumnus who is a speCia l agent with the Federal Bureau of Invest igation in Birmingham, and Dr. Rosemary Pledger, a Harding alumna who is Dean of the Schoo l of Professional St udies at the University of Houston 's Clear Lake City campus. Also speaking was Richard M. DeVos, cof<)..uIlder and president of the Amway Corporation of Ada, Michigan, and W. F. Martin , chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Phillips Petroleum Company of Bartlesvi lle, Oklahoma. "Our nation is living in mediocrity ," said DeVos. "When there is no growth , there is no upward mobility, and then our nation will stop comp letely. " Speaking further, DeVos challenged the students to "work toward so lutions and solve those situations which are ours." Then , he believed, Americans would be better equipped to go through the various stages of development which every group of people enter. DeVos thought that America is in the "defense-and-blame stage." "We are trying to justify our nongrowth," he commented, "while putting the blame on o thers. As a nation , the President blames Congress, Congress blames the President and they all blame the oil companies. " Martin agreed. "We must solve the problems closest to us before considering solving problems on a larger level, " he said. He also asserted that "the secure ene rgy (continued from page 195) basis helps in securing a healthful social and political environmen t assuring our freedom." Friedman visits American Studies speakers in the spring included Nobel prize- ~inning economist Milton Fried- 'The individuals who visit the campus each year are carefully chosen and must be individuals who will enunciate clearly those basic ideals and principles upon which our American way of life is founded.' - Dr. Clifton L. Ganus Jr. man , former CBS commenta tor Eric Sevareid and syndicated columnist James K. Kilpatrick. Some of the speakers were included in an off-shoot of the American Studies Program, the Memphis lecture series. On two ou t of town trips during the year, American Studies members visited Dallas in the fall, and Tulsa and Bartlesville Oklahoma in the spring. In Dallas the group visited various companies, touring facilities to view operating procedures. Some of the companies included in the Dallas trip were American Airlines, IBM, Bloom Advertising and Texas Instruments. The st udents also v isited the offices of Merril Lynch , a General Motors plant and the facilities of the Dallas Cowboys. An emphasis on energy The spring tour emphasized energy. Beginning in Bartlesville, the group toured the main complex of the Phillips Petroleum Company. They met with the Chairman of the Board and spent a day and a half looking at a ll aspects of the oil industry , from geological formation and exp loration to production, refining and distribution. Phillips showed their hospitality to the group by hosting a banquet for the Harding contingent wit h many of the company 's top officials present. From Bartlesville the tour continued in Tulsa. There the group was with the Parker Drilling Company, one of the largest in the world, and with the second la.t'1?f'st electric company_ in the stat';,trffi) ATTENTIVELY listening to William Martin, American Studies members learn of current world affairs.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==