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Shirley Mullen, ‘76; Houghton’s president.

Houghton College, our fair alma mater, where we both graduated in 1966 with Bachelor-of-Arts degrees, me in History, and my wife in both History and English, celebrated its 125th anniversary last year.
Houghton is an evangelical liberal arts college in Western New York, about an hour south of Rochester, but in a very bucolic rural setting.
I’ve never regretted going there, even though I graduated as a reprehensible outcast.
I completed the requirements, so was granted a degree.
I was the first in my family to do so, although I’m sure my father could have got his degree.
But he came of age during the Depression, so his parents wanted him to forget education and get a job.
His going off to Chicago to attend a Bible school was perceived as running away.
My father wanted me to attend that same Bible school, to “straighten me out;” but I wanted a college degree.
Houghton was the compromise, because it was an evangelical college.
I should add that my parents were both tub-thumping born-again Christians, quick to pass judgment, and loudly determined I follow in their hallowed footsteps.
Houghton was founded in 1883, although not as a college at first. At first it was a religious high-school, but was accredited as a college in 1923.
By 1960 it had become the number-two evangelical college in reputation, second only to Wheaton college, near Chicago.
1961 was my third summer on the staff of Sandy Hill Boys Camp along Chesapeake Bay in northeastern MD, an evangelical operation.
That summer many of the camp’s counselors were Houghton students; I was only a Counselor-in-Training (“CIT”), age 17. (I’d graduate high-school in a year; 1962.)
They relayed to me what a wonderful place Houghton was, so I applied.
I also applied to Wheaton, but they turned me down.
My acceptance at Houghton was provisional; I had to attend summer-school to prove I could do college level work.
It was do-or-die: succeed or get sucked into the Vietnam quagmire.
So I succeeded, and thereby matriculated.
I graduated four years later, despite so-so grades.
My grades were always marginal, but the professors loved having me in class.
That was because unlike most, I was a thinker. I’d come up with a cogent snide remark that caught the professors off guard.
One time a venerable history-professor was telling us “the middle-of-the-road” was the best route.
“But Dr. Lindley,” I said. “What if the middle-of-the-road is wrong?”
WHAM! Stopped her in her tracks.
“That Hughes-kid is always coming up with the perfect response; the one that makes us question.”
Houghton has come a long way since.
The guy who was college-president (Steve Paine [“PAIN”], pictured below) retired and eventually died.
The fact Houghton became number-two was largely his doing; and he was riding a bucking bronco — balancing a board of ultraconservative and sanctimonious zealots against the needs of the college (like bending college rules to accommodate President Johnson’s National Defense Student-Loan program, the way I funded my education).
When we were there TV was still of-the-Devil, girls couldn’t wear shorts or sleeveless dresses, and dancing and movies were unthinkable.
Paine was replaced by Wilbur Dayton (‘38), who was a bit buffaloed, and only held the position a few years.
Dayton was replaced by Dan Chamberlain (“CHAIM-brr-lin”), who I always perceived as a clown. He probably wasn’t, but he popped out of a cake for the college’s centennial in 1983.
Chamberlain retired in 2005, and was replaced by Shirley Mullen (‘76); the college’s first woman president.
The vaunted “Milieu” (we call it “Mildew”), the college alumni magazine, did a treatment of Houghton at 125, “celebrating the journey.”
President Mullen had a speech therein, and it follows:

Steve Paine; Houghton’s president when we were there.

“In order to be an effective Christian liberal arts college for the 21st century, we must be sharper than ever in the sciences and more intentional about our strategy for preparing Christians who are effective in cross cultural settings at home and overseas. We have a strong tradition and foundation to build on in the sciences and global engagement, but the rapid pace of change in both areas will require concentrated and sustained attention in the coming days to assure our continued strength.”
My first thought was “she sure had a liberal-arts education.”
My wife’s comment was “CEO-speak!”
“Sure had a liberal-arts education” is something a professor once told me at Rochester Institute of Technology, for a photography course I was taking, requiring a term-paper.
I was no good as a photographer, but I sure could write.
The professor said that, giving me back that term-paper, for which he had given me an “A.”
“What did she say?” I cried. “Is she trying to make up for the fact she’s flat-chested?”
“Boy,” I commented. “Things sure have changed since Steve Paine was telling us to join him ‘up on the curb.’”

My wife of 41+ years is “Linda.”

The “Bible school” was Moody Bible Institute, now a college — very urban, in downtown Chicago; which I didn’t like.

RE: “For a photography course I was taking.....” —At that time (early ‘70s) I was trying to freelance photography; but I didn’t have the eye (“I was no good as a photographer”).

RE: “Steve Paine was telling us to join him ‘up on the curb.......’” —College president Steve Paine was always bewailing that Houghton students were “in-the-gutter,” and admonishing us to “join him ‘on the curb.’”