From the fourth floor office window the sun shines brightly onto a large oak desk. French textbooks and papers glisten in the sunlight. On an adjacent wall, a large clock festooned with John Deere tractors ticks away. A smiling gray haired man sits by his computer. He is grading tests or planning out his upcoming lesson. Professor John D’Espinosa, Ph.D., former Department Chair of the Modern Languages Department is preparing to leave the place he has called a home for over two generations, and with it he leaves behind memories and a lasting legacy.
In the fall of 1970, Saint Anselm College was quite a different place. Not yet co-educational, the campus maintained an all-male student population half that of what exists today. The physical campus was much smaller and the monastic community boasted over 40 members.
Professor D’Espinosa reminisces that “the campus was much smaller in the early 70’s, Poisson Hall, Davison Hall, the renovated library…even the uppers was all woods and tennis courts…Alumni Hall played an even more central role in the life of the college than it does today…the coffee shop, the bookstore, the pub, and the gymnasium were all there at one point in time.”
In terms of institutional changes, Professor D’Espinosa believes that while the size of the academic departments has increased at a fairly low rate, the college administration has ballooned in a few short decades. He remembers a time when the size of the college administration was around 20 members, estimating that now there could be over 100 individuals. Citing legitimate reasons, he believes that the administration has grown in size as the demands of the collegiate arena change with time.
He says that “students and parents expect much more out of a college education today…marketing, computers, and digital media all play a role in furthering the advancement of the college. This is necessary work”
When asked about changes in the classroom, Professor D’Espinosa says that computers were certainly not part of the academic curriculum in the 1970’s. As students gained access to computers, assignments began to rely more so on technology. Professor D’Espinosa admits that as student’s proficiency with computers has developed, their lives have become less simplistic and open to multi-tasking. With this multi-tasking, he believes that students are forced to balance academics and extracurricular with more difficulty than ever before. Despite this trend, he believes that students are just as intelligent as ever before, and apply themselves well in the classroom.
In his retirement, Professor D’Espinosa hopes to spend time travelling with his wife, and visit his son and grandchild more regularly. He plans to continue to live in the Manchester area and visit the college as often as possible. A former bee keeper, he intends to return to his hobby if time allows.
When asked if he feels that the approved curriculum changes will be effective, specifically the adjustments to the mandatory language curriculum, he approved of the changes and the maintenance of the native speaker program, an element which entered the fold of the college with his assistance in the late 1970’s. Like the curriculum changes, professors come and go with time, but the impressions they leave behind are long lasting.