Generosity of America

The authors of Hillsdale College's mission "proclaimed themselves 'grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the prevalence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety in the land, and believing that the diffusion of sound learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.'

...Ransom Dunn did not raise funds for Hillsdale by appealing to donors' guilt, or by urging them to 'give back' to society. Instead, he appealed to their ideals and aspirations, their religious principles, and their desire to create an institution of learning in the upper Midwest.

...the tradition of private generosity in America has always been central to our free society. Voluntary donations from the farm families of the Midwest made it possible for Hillsdale to be independent, which in turn gave Hillsdale the freedom to challenge prevailing cultural and political wisdom. Following another private institution, Oberlin, Hillsdale was the second American college to grant four-year liberal-arts degrees to women. Founded at a time when Michigan public schools were officially segregated by race, Hillsdale was also the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination on the basis of race, religion or sex. Without the indepedence that comes from private support, Hillsdale would not have been able to provide this leadership.

...Private support has continued to sustain Hillsdale's independence by enabling it to forego state and federal government support altogether."

"The Generosity of America" by Adam Meyerson appearing in the January 2010 edition of Imprimis.

Read the article in its entirety here.

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