Scott Raymond Has Resigned As Dean of Covenant College

My parents went to Covenant and they "made" me go to Covenant because we lived in Germany when it was time to visit Colleges. Their deal was that they agreed with the theology, knew most of the professors, and many of the families who would be sending their children there went to school with them. I was told to go there for at least 2 years. I enjoyed it so much I stayed all 4. Anyway, after my parents visited several times, they realized that the Covenant that they knew had certainly disappeared with the times. There was only Carter hall when they were there. And chapel was a much more respected part of the Covenant experience.
I guess what I am trying to say is that it is probably inevitable that the Covenant that we knew will probably disappear as the times change. I just hope that it really doesn't become too bland.

I suppose it was inevitible. The old guard is slowly being phased out. It seems that just about everyone who cared about actually relating to the students is moving on. Chris Clark is a notable exception, but I can't say how long he'll last, especially with the current goings-on in Founders.

If President Nielson is really trying to turn the school into a Wheaton knock-off with better theology, I'll be sending my kids to a real university. It was never the academics that I loved about Covenant, and it seems that once Nielson is done with the place that's all they'll have left.

The alumni association should not be expecting any checks from me, that's for sure.

I'd be interested to hear what constitutes a "real" university if it isn't the academics, or why Wheaton is so terrible (I was going to go there for graduate work, this year, so be gentle ;-) ).

BTW: Too bad about Dean Raymond. He's a great guy.

I was also a fan of Raymond, despite complicating his life more than once with the Drone (god rest its zombie bones). I tend to agree with Ryan. Covenant lacked precision and punctuality oftentimes with regard to the complications of administrative stuff (like transcripts, etc.). But it seems like in the process of streamlining these things, there is no longer a concern for people as people. People are being reduced to their respective positions: admin, students, faculty, and numbers, which is sad.

The thing is, Covenant doesn't have great academics. It has quality professors in certain areas, don't get me wrong (Greene, Davis, Kapic, etc.), but it can't hold a candle to a major research university. It just can't. And I ought to know, because I'm at one now. After one semester at Columbia, I feel like the past for years of my life were almost like playing college.

The things I learned at Covenant that I will use for the rest of my life weren't generally things I learned in class. It was about living with people, about interacting with an authority structure, about living as an independent adult, about dealing with mindless rule-enforcers, and how to challenge authority without being either rebellious or spineless. As the administration gets more and more draconian in its policies the capacity for teaching students those non-academic skills is disappearing.

*nods* Gotcha. Thanks. Agreed. Although, the non-academic skills are probably more of a package of the college experience in general, regardless of where you go. I went to two different schools before I went to Covenant, myself (all changes were voluntary).

I'm totally out of the loop on how Covenant is changing, though. Anyone care to fill me in?