Carleton: Pass It On

As I sat on the commencement platform in June, looking out on the Class of 2004 before delivering my stewardship speech to them, I was struck by their diversity. Of course, our country itself is more diverse than when I graduated in 1967, but that doesn't explain most of the change between my class and this one. This student diversity did not just happen; it came about because alumni and staff actively recruited students of color, convinced them that Carleton was the place for them, and supported them while they were here.

Donations to fund the Flyback program, which subsidizes campus visits for students of color, and summer academic programs such as CLAE, which introduces high-achieving African American high school students to the strengths of a liberal arts education, make it possible for prospective students to experience Carleton on a trial basis. The Posse program and the Office of Multicultural Affairs provide important support after students enroll.

The education today's students receive is also more wide-ranging. Current opportunities to study in Africa and Latin America were not available 40 years ago. Course offerings in 2004 better reflect the world's many cultures. And although faculty and staff efforts were essential for implementing these changes, alumni giving helped make them happen.

Among this year's graduates was the daughter of Mary Lou (Hoerr) Bingham, a classmate of mine who died of ovarian cancer in April. Mary Lou was the epitome of Carleton stewardship-her Alumni Annual Fund letters to our class convinced many of us to stretch in our giving. Although Carleton lacked racial diversity in the 1960s, socioeconomic diversity already existed. Mary Lou and I were both from St. Louis, but our paths never crossed in our hometown; she was from the suburbs and I was from the city. Carleton allowed us to meet, and I think we were both better for it.

Few of us will ever be as devoted to Carleton as Mary Lou was, but all of us can contribute our time and money, as she did.

-Margaret C. Simms '67, Carleton College Alumni Council President