Loving Today’s and Yesterday’s Hillsdale

Written by Doug Goodnough

My story file tells me this is my 10th blog post since I’ve been back to the College full-time, so I think I have enough “street cred” to say this: I continue to be amazed that Hillsdale is remarkably similar to the institution I attended more than 30 years ago.

I know my opening statement may trigger an immediate response from some alumni I’ve met over the past eight-plus months who have told me, “Hillsdale has changed so much since I went there.” Hillsdale’s focus on academic rigor, as well as the many traditions and ideals that were in place when I was a student, remain. Let me provide some anecdotal evidence:

Greek life continues to play an important role in the social lives of our students. Rush Week still is the big deal it was decades ago, and the fraternities and sororities remain strong social bonding agents for many of our students.
The Center for Constructive Alternatives (CCAs) are as popular as ever. Students still have to write papers on the event as part of their classwork.
Students still call the food service “Saga” even though the name is now Metz. It’s one of the mysteries of the universe.
Remember Mock Rock in Phillips Auditorium? I do. It was one of the highlights of the year. I vividly remember my Delta Sigma Phi brothers winning the event one year with their passionate rendition of Greased Lightning from the film Grease. Mock Rock is now at Homecoming in the Tibbetts Arena. And, let me tell you, the environment is electric. While the event is more focused on dance choreography than the lip-syncing from my era, I was amazed at how the throngs of students and alumni who attended were utterly caught up in the moment. It was pure joy. You should come back to Homecoming just to see this event.
The Homecoming Parade is still the Homecoming Parade.
Words like “independence,” “freedom,” and “liberty” are still spoken frequently on campus. And Hillsdale’s focus on the Constitution, the liberal arts, and critical thinking is as strong as ever.

If you don’t believe my “evidence,” I offer the Princeton Review. Collecting data from 160,000 college students from 388 colleges across America, Hillsdale ranked in the top 20 of several subcategories related to academics and student life including:

#1 for Most Engaged in Community Service
#3 for Best College Newspaper
#4 Most Religious Students
#7 for Their Students Love These Colleges
#7 for Most Accessible Professors
#8 for Professors Get High Marks
#10 for Best-Run Colleges
#13 for Happiest Students
#13 for Students Study the Most

The College has become more selective in its admissions process. The students here are smart and getting smarter. And polite. And respectful. They were that way when I was here, too.

For those alumni who have shared with me that current students don’t seem to have the same “fun” we had while on campus, let me assure you they are having a great time. Maybe not in the same ways we did, but as President Larry Arnn has correctly stated time and time again, students are happy here. I see it firsthand. We just had Parents Weekend here and more than 1,400 parents attended!

Our students love today’s Hillsdale, and there are so many things for our alumni to love, too. It is a happy place to be while keeping its founding principles intact and expanding its educational outreach.

And, of course, we want you to keep loving yesterday’s Hillsdale. The Alumni Relations Team works every day to engage alumni in the ways they want to engage us. In fact, Director of Engagement David Bassett, ’12, was recently hired specifically to help with that effort.

Let us help connect you to the things that you love about the College, both past and present. And maybe I’ll see you at Mock Rock next year.

Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.

Published in October 2022