George Morgan Ward

My first primary source is an article published in a newspaper that is based off an interview with George Morgan Ward. This source is very beneficial to me in writing my research paper because it is Ward’s thoughts and concerns about Rollins College. It is not what someone else believes Ward’s thoughts are about Rollins College. The direct quotes from Ward are what I believe are going to be most helpful in writing my paper. The source displays what Ward has already achieved for Rollins when he first became president in 1896 and what his future plans for Rollins were.

The article initially begins with explaining what Ward did previous to becoming president of Rollins. The article harps on Ward’s Christian values and shows how important they are to him. The article also made it clear that Ward did not plan to directly implement his Christian values at Rollins. The article showed that Ward’s Christian values are respected within the Rollins community though and more generally the Christian world. Also, that Ward is considered to be a good man to speak on behalf of the Christian values that most people hold. Then the article explains what Ward’s educational background was previous to becoming president at Rollins.

Ward most importantly wanted to make it clear to the alumni and future members of the Rollins’ College that he wanted to establish Rollins as a “strictly non-sectarian institution.” He wanted Rollins to guide students to learning in a way that would help them to apply their education to the real world and to their lives after college. Ward implemented his philosophy about how to teach students by starting new classes at Rollins, such as typewriting, bookkeeping, Spanish and much more. Ward specifically taught a class about business law. Ward by employing new classes was able to make Rollins College more comparable to schools in the North.

Ward also explains the value of attending school at Rollins College, value that have been long established prior to his presidency he argues. However, Ward does make it clear that he wishes to preserve Rollins values. Ward brags in the most modest way about how Rollins “healthfulness” is very important. Ward also emphasized the natural advantages of attending Rollins and explains in great detail how he plans to preserve these natural advantages Rollins has to offer.

The article is truly going to benefit me in writing my paper because it explains what Ward plans to do to preserve Rollins as being a respected institution for higher education. The article obviously is of most value to me because it is Ward’s words and not someone else’s. I think that this article will work well with my future research, which will pertain to how Winter Park are connected with each other and what Ward does to further this connection.