February 22, 2006 Issue
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February 22, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Webmaster Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2005 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of Three |
Hiller made civil rights history
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“Thurgood Marshall convinced me that my race wouldn’t matter, So I said ‘OK, I’ll give it a try.’” Chestnut Hill resident Marvin Wachman explains how it is that he became a white president of America’s oldest historically black college, a job he accepted at the height of the Civil Rights’ Movement.
Dr. Wachman, who left a comfortable job as a history professor at Colgate University to become president of Lincoln University in 1961, explains, “Faculty and friends thought I was nuts! I saw possibilities, but I had great reservations; however, they convinced me.”
The ‘they’ he refers to included Thurgood Marshall, famous at the time for arguing Brown v. Board of Education and later as the first black U.S, Supreme Court Justice; Ralph Bunche, United Nations Undersecretary; and Walter M. Phillips, a Lincoln alum and prestigious Philadelphia reformer.
In his recently published memoir, The Education of a University President, Dr. Wachman, 88, tells of his years at Lincoln University and later as president of Temple University. In describing his memoirs, he states, “My book is about how you never stop learning.” His is the story of a passionate career spanning 60 years in higher education. It’s colored with anecdotes of the many lessons he learned along the way. As James W. Hilty comments in the book’s foreword, “The organizing theme of Wachman’s memoir is his continual effort to learn in an ever-changing world, to become educated to its nuances and shifting boundaries, transforming social trends and political reverberations ... ”
“I’ve always been interested in race relations. At Colgate we spent lots of time talking about race relations but by becoming Lincoln’s president, there was finally a chance to actually do something.” Dr. Wachman’s work in race relations started early in his career. His master’s thesis at Northwestern University dealt with the Chicago Race Riots of 1919. However, his personal experience with diversity began much earlier than graduate school.
Growing up Jewish in an otherwise all-Christian Milwaukee neighborhood taught him his earliest lessons. “In Milwaukee, I learned a great deal about interfaith relations,” Wachman explains, “I played basketball on a Roman Catholic team and was a Young Pioneer with the Methodists.” Dr. Wachman humbly attributes much of his success to his younger, formative years.
He was born to Russian Jewish immigrants who taught him and his five siblings self-sufficiency and the value of education. He illustrates, “Everyone was taught to contribute to the welfare of the family and support themselves as much as possible.” Dr. Wachman’s early jobs included shining shoes, selling magazines and at the age of 12, delivering a daily newspaper which changed his future.
On his route he discovered the Washington Tennis Club and soon employed his innate negotiating skills that served him so well as university president. In exchange for performing regular court maintenance, he was able to play on their courts. And so began a tennis career and a lifelong passion for Dr. Wachman. “Tennis was a huge influence on my life.” By 12th grade he won the Wisconsin State High School Championship, earning a scholarship to Northwestern University, where he completed a Master’s degree in History and won a Big Ten divisional tennis title. Wachman’s tennis abilities offered him introductions to personalities and worlds he would otherwise have never known.
Though tennis required much time during high school and college, Dr. Wachman also held a variety of jobs including waiting tables, stringing rackets, serving as a house counselor (RA) and later as a Teaching Assistant while completing his PhD at the University of Illinois. “A good deal to do with the success or limitations of the future rested on early experiences – my family, my job as newsboy, my work at Northwestern and tennis.”
Dr. Wachman went on to experience great success throughout his career. During Wachman’s years at Lincoln, enrollment grew from 300 to 1100. He is most proud of his contributions that improved academic standards, diversified the faculty and integrated the student body which, at the time of his departure had become 20% white. He admits though that none of it was easy. “We had a crisis a day. If I wasn’t an optimistic and persistent person, I would have left.” Wachman explains. “It was a 24 hour-a-day, seven days-a-week job. You had to have stamina, both physical and psychological, to do that job, but I just loved it.
“I was at a school where all the issues of the time came together. We had student demonstrations, huge protests and visits from the KKK. There were so many interesting people at Lincoln, and we awarded honorary degrees to the most fascinating people.” Wachman tells of commencement addresses delivered by such notables as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Jesse Jackson, Chief Justice Earl Warren and Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes.
By 1969, after Dr. Wachman had spent eight years at Lincoln, the racial climate had changed. When he first arrived at the all-black college, the emphasis of the civil rights movement was on integration and specifically equal opportunity in education and jobs. During his years there, the tone changed from one of integration to black empowerment, nationalism and consciousness. He felt the students would be best served by a president of color, and although he and his family loved their life at Lincoln, he stepped down from his role as president and accepted a job at Temple University as Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Just three years later, Dr. Wachman was offered the presidency of Temple, a role he held for nine years until he turned 65, the then-mandatory retirement age. Temple proved to be as interesting and challenging as Lincoln. “I had become accustomed to issues of money and human relations, but at Temple these issues were on a much bigger scale,” Wachman explains.
Dr. Wachman faced student protests, declining enrollment at Temple and a severe fiscal crisis at Temple University Hospital which threatened to bankrupt the university. Student activism at Temple included protesting the Vietnam War, the Kent State incident, U.S. invasion of Cambodia and general concerns such as cafeteria food and dormitory rooms.
Wachman worked hard to understand all disciplines, and specifically researched hospitals and dental programs. At Temple he was committed to extending the university beyond the streets of North Philadelphia, “Universities should be universal, not chauvinistic and not local,” he exclaims. Under his leadership, he worked towards diversifying the students, faculty and programs. During his presidency Temple expanded international education programs in Paris, Dublin, London, Greece, Israel, Nigeria, China and opened Temple University Japan and Temple University Center City.
Navigating unfamiliar territory seems to come naturally for Wachman. Perhaps his nights as an infantry sergeant on reconnaissance missions during the Second World War set the stage for the uncertainty and change he faced as a president of two distinguished universities. His pursuits of challenging assignments continue in his retirement years. Since leaving Temple, Wachman has served on many boards, is very involved with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, authors many articles and has served as acting president of Philadelphia University and president of Albright College.
Dr. Wachman had left his mark on higher education, not just in Philadelphia but around the world. His memoirs speak humbly of this success and tell the story of an intelligent and caring man who never forgot his roots, was always optimistic and valued the contributions of those around him.
Dr. Wachman’s book is available at the Chestnut Hill Borders in the Local Interest Section, at amazon.com and temple.edu.
