Deep Springs College

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Deep Springs College
President
Andy Zink
DeanRyan Derby-Talbot
Total staff
30 (approximate)
Students26 (approximate)
Location
Deep Springs
,
California
,
U.S.

37°22′26″N 117°58′48″W / 37.3739°N 117.98°W / 37.3739; -117.98
CampusRural
Websitedeepsprings.edu

Deep Springs College (known simply as Deep Springs or DS) is a

four-year college after completing their studies. Those enrolled pay no tuition and are given room and board
.

Founded in 1917 as Deep Springs, Collegiate and Preparatory, it was originally a

coeducational
institution in 2018.

The college's alumni include

congressmen
.

History

L.L. Nunn, a graduate of Harvard Law School, founded Deep Springs

Deep Springs was founded in 1917 by L. L. Nunn, a business magnate who made a fortune building alternating current power plants in the Western United States. Nunn's first projects—a hydroelectric plant in Telluride, Colorado, and the Olmsted Power Station in Provo, Utah—served as the foundation for his inspiration to create a new type of educational institution.[3] As it became difficult to find enough engineers capable of living under rough conditions, he began schooling local men and pursued an interest in education.[4] Nunn eventually sold his industrial assets to fund the Telluride Association, an educational trust based at Cornell University, and the Telluride House.[5] After becoming dissatisfied with the association's mission, he founded Deep Springs and helped in its administration until his death in 1925.[6]

The establishment of Deep Springs was a reaction to what Nunn saw as a decline in academic standards in traditional American colleges.[7] His philosophy governing Deep Springs focused strictly around the pursuit of "academics, labor, and self-governance", something he dubbed the "three pillars" which supported the "whole man".[8] The inclusion of manual labor in a college's educational program was unusual in 1917, but a number of so-called manual labor colleges had existed in the United States in the 19th century—including, at one time, Oberlin College, which Nunn attended.[9] By the early 1860s, most had either closed or had abandoned their manual labor programs.[10]

These pillars entailed students playing an active role in the administration of the college by laboring in the field and contributing to student meetings during committees, which Nunn believed was an effective method of producing "leaders for a democratic society".

student body and currently remain with full voice and voting rights.[11] Due to his correspondence with these early student bodies, Nunn decided the college would provide student housing and would not include a tuition.[12]

In the 1990s, the school's leadership debated transitioning the college to be

coeducational. Whereas many women in the Telluride Association advocated for the change, a large portion of the school's alumni wished to keep its status as a men's college.[13] Though the board of Deep Springs voted against making any change in 1994, the college later accepted a $1.8 million low-interest loan from Telluride under the condition that Deep Springs would begin admitting women by 2019.[14] In 2011, the college's trustees voted to begin accepting female students in the summer of 2013 but became embroiled in legal challenges which were lodged against the trustees' action.[15] The challengers disputed the authority of the college's board to change the admissions policy and included an injunction preventing the college from accepting female students until at least the 2018–2019 academic year.[16][17] On April 13, 2017, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the college could admit women in Hitz v. Hoekstra.[18] With the Supreme Court of California declining to hear an appeal,[19] the board of trustees voted once again to admit women, with the first female students arriving in July 2018.[20][21]

Curriculum

tenure.[22] Undergraduates work a minimum of 20 hours a week,[23] rotating tasks while also studying for their classes.[12]

Students attend classes during the morning and spend the afternoon working on the ranch.[24] Though the majority of learning is loosely regulated and done mainly through informal discussions, there are two required courses: freshman composition and public speaking.[25] After graduation, approximately two-thirds of the student body transfer to an Ivy League university or another similarly ranked institution,[26][27] with a substantial portion going on to attend Cornell University, Brown University or the University of California, Berkeley.[12][28]

Self-governance is a critical part of the Deep Springs educational program. Students hold decision-making authority in determinations about admissions, curriculum, and faculty hiring. Every student serves on one of four standing committees during their time as a student: Applications (ApCom), Curriculum (CurCom), Communications (ComCom) or Review and Reinvitations (RCom). The Communications Committee (ComCom) was created in the early 1990s and charged with shaping the policies that define the college's relations with the world at large.[citation needed]

Campus

View from main ranch to Deep Springs Valley

Deep Springs College is isolated within

alcohol.[7]

Deep Springs used to have a direct telephone line that crossed the White Mountains, but difficult maintenance made service unsustainable.

direct inward dialing.[32]

A small

seismic station exists behind the main campus, installed by the former Soviet Union as part of a bi-national underground nuclear test monitoring agreement.[33]

Alumni

Despite the small number of admitted students, Deep Springs disproportionately produces members of academia with the majority of graduates going on to receive

Emmy award, and one E. O. Lawrence Award
, among other honors. Prominent alumni include:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Staley 2019, p. 49.
  2. ^ Newell 1982, p. 120.
  3. ^ Bailey 1933, p. 28.
  4. ^ Anderson & Diehl 2004, p. 13.
  5. ^ a b Anderson & Diehl 2004, p. 14.
  6. ^ Bailey 1933, p. 68.
  7. ^ a b Newell 1982, p. 122.
  8. ^ Anderson & Diehl 2004, pp. 14–15.
  9. ISBN 0873388879
    .
  10. ^ Lull 1914, p. 387.
  11. ^ Newell et al. 1993, p. 23.
  12. ^ a b c Newell et al. 1993, p. 24.
  13. ^ Fleming 2009, p. 214.
  14. ^ Goodyear, Dana (August 28, 2006). "The Searchers: The fate of progressive education at Deep Springs College". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  15. ^ Ruiz, Rebecca R. (September 19, 2011). "Elite, All-Male University of the Wild West To Go Coed". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  16. ^ "Deep Springs College". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  17. ^ Jaschik, Scott (January 11, 2012). "Women Blocked at Deep Springs". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  18. ^ "Appeals Court Issues Final Ruling Sustaining Lower Court Ruling for Coeducation". Deep Springs College. April 14, 2017.
  19. ^ "California Supreme Court Denies Request for Review, Lets Stand Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Coeducation". Deep Springs College. June 29, 2017.
  20. ^ "Deep Springs Board Votes to Admit Women". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  21. ^ "Coeducation". Deep Springs College. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  22. ^ Staley 2019, pp. 49–50.
  23. ^ a b c d JBHE 2004, p. 43.
  24. ^ Anderson & Diehl 2004, p. 16.
  25. ^ Anderson & Diehl 2004, p. 17.
  26. ^ Newell et al. 1993, p. 26.
  27. ^ Newell 1982, p. 124.
  28. ^ Fleming 2009, p. 209.
  29. ^ Newell 1982, p. 123.
  30. 619
    +058+121) who would then put the call through manually. 'Deep Springs Toll Station #2.' was the published number until 1987; an attempt to call this in 1989 reported 'not in service'.
  31. ^ a b Deep Springs College Accreditation Team Evaluation Report (PDF) (Report). March 21–24, 2011.
  32. ^ "Employment FAQ". Deep Springs College. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  33. ^ "Monitoring". Nevada Seismological Lab. Retrieved July 18, 2022. 37.37,-117.97 Deep Springs, California w84gm
  34. ^ Tierney 1993, p. 35.

Notes


Sources

External links
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