Historical Documents

No academic departments

No academic requirements

No faculty rank

No grades

--Charles J. McCann

The Evergreen State College is often noted what it isn't, perhaps most famously by the "Four Nos" first articulated over 40 years ago by founding president Charlie McCann. Before Evergreen opened its doors, direction for the new college was as much about what it shouldn't be as what it should. State Senator Gordon Sandison said the Legislature did not want "just another four year college" bound by rigid structures of tradition. Governor Dan Evans expressed the need to "unshackle our educational thinking from traditional patterns" to create a "flexible and sophisticated educated instrument." 

Knowing what you aren't can be immensely freeing, but it doesn't tell the story of what you are.  The documents listed below are some of the college's primary texts and key secondary sources. We hope they shed light on how Evergreen became the college it did and how it continues to define and redefine itself.

If you don't see something that you think should be here, contact John McLain, ext. 6045. To learn more about Evergreen's history, visit the Archives in Library 0426 or contact Archivist Randy Stilson, ext. 6126.

Forethoughts and early models

• Horace Mann. Horace Mann on the Crisis in Education. Louis Filler, ed. Yellow Springs, Ohio: Antioch Press. 1965. [in library]
• Alexander Meiklejohn. The Experimental College. New York: Arno Press. 1971 (c1932). [in library]
• _____. Education between Two Worlds. New York, Harper & Brothers. 1942.
• _____. The Liberal College. New York: Arno Press. 1969.
• Joseph Tussman. Experiment at Berkeley. London: Oxford. 1969. [in library]
• Martin Duberman. Black Mountain: An Exploration in Community. New York: Dutton. 1972. [in library]

1960s 

• Washington State Council of Presidents. A Plan for Public Higher Education in Washington: A Report. 1964. [in library]
• Arthur D. Little, Inc. A Policy Plan for Community College Education in State of Washington. 1966. [in library]
• Nelson Associates. Planning for Higher Education Needs in the State of Washington. 1966. [in library]
• Frederic T. Giles. Initial Planning and Cost Considerations for a New State College--State of Washington. 10 January 1967.
• Garrett Heyns, president of Southwestern Washington State College Committee. Statement to joint public hearing of Senate and House Committees on Higher Education, Washington Legislature. 15 February 1967.
• House Bill 596--1967 authorizing legislation.
• The Making of the College: 1964-67. No date.
• Washington State Temporary Council on Public Higher Education. A Report on Higher Education in Washington. 1969. [in library]
• Dean E. Clabaugh. The Evergreen State College Developmental Aspects Prior to Appointment of the President. 25 November 1969.

1970s

• Dean E. Clabaugh. Planning for The Evergreen State College: History and Progress. 15 June 1970.
• Charles J. McCann. Institutional Goals and Statement of Purpose. No date.
• Class of '72 (autobiographical photobook of the first year [1971-72] faculty). No date.
• David Marr and S. R. "Rudy" Martin. The M 'n M Manifesto: My Snowman's Burning Down. 9 March 1972.
• Lake Quinault Four-Year Curriculum Planning Meeting Notes. November 1972
• Edward J. Kormondy. A Brief History: 1967-1973. No date.
• Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools. Evaluation Committee Report: The Evergreen State College. 1 May 1974.
• Quinault II Task Force. Quinault II: A Curriculum Addressed to the Human Condition. 13 May 1975.
• David Marr and S. R. "Rudy" Martin. M & M II: The Current Crisis. 24 November 1975.
• Sid White. On Authority and Authoritativeness. No date.
• Katharine M. Bullitt, et al. The Evergreen State College: Report of the Citizens Evaluation Group to the Board of Trustees. 1 September 1976.
• Rita Sevcik. The Evergreen State College--Planning Milestones and Early Years: 1967-1977. No date.
• Accreditation Progress Report. 1977.
• Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools. Evaluation Committee Report: The Evergreen State College. 26 October 1979.

1980s

• Richard Jones. Experiment at Evergreen. Rochester, Vermont: Schenkman. 1981. [in library]
• Byron Youtz. The Evergreen State College: An Experiment Maturing. 1981.
• Mervyn L. Cadwallader. Experiment at San Jose. Conference on Alternative Higher Education. 1981
• William Henry Stevens. The Philosophical and Political Origins of The Evergreen State College. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Washington, 1983. [in library]
• Final Report of the Values and Aspirations Committee for Strategic Planning. 1986.
• Final Report of the Strategic Planning Council. 7 August 1986.
• Reaccreditation Self-Study. 1988. [coming soon]
• What We Believe: The Five Foci of Learning. ca. 1988.
• Northwest Commission on Schools and Colleges, Commission on Colleges. Reaccreditation Report. 1989.

 1990s

• Peter Tommerup. Teaching and Learning at Evergreen: An Ethnographic Study. 1992.
• Donald L. Finkel and William Ray Arney. Educating for Freedom. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rugters University Press. 1995. [in library]
• Student Voices of '71: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective. First edition. 1996.
• Long-Range Curriculum DTF Final Report. 1996.
• Reaccreditation Self-Study. 1998.
• Evergreen's Twelve Critical Tensions (abstracted from the 1998 Self-Study). 1998.
• William Cronon. "Only Connect...": The Goals of a Liberal Education. American Scholar 67:4. 1998.
• Northwest Commission on Schools and Colleges, Commission on Colleges. Final Reaccreditation Report. 1998.

2000s

• Donald L. Finkel. Teaching with Your Mouth Shut. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 2000. [in library]
• Six Expectations of an Evergreen Graduate. 2001.
• John McCann. General Education at Evergreen. 2002.
• Interim Accreditation Self-Study. 2003.
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Interim Accreditation Report. 2003. 
• NSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice. Documenting Effective Educational Practice Final Report: The Evergreen State College. 2003.
• Teaching Practices at Evergreen. 2003.
• Narrative Evaluation Study Group. Narrative Evaluation Guide. 2004.
• 2005 Transcript Review Assessment Workshop. Preliminary Report. 2005.
• The Real Faculty Handbook, revised. 2006.
• Sam Schrager. The Liberal Arts at Evergreen. 2006.
• Reaccreditation Self-Study. 2008.
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Final Reaccreditation Report. 2008.
• United Faculty of Evergreen Collective Bargaining Agreement. 2008.

 2010s

• Evergreen Accreditation Progress Report. 2010.
• Accreditation Standard One Report. 2011.
• Academic Statement and Mentoring Initiative. 2011.

Other links and documents

• Archives
• Evergreen's Common Data Set
• Evergreen Fact Page
• Evergreen Visual History Collection
• Faculty Handbook
• Faculty Updates
• Five Foci
• Mission
• Six Expectations of an Evergreen Graduate

If you have corrections or suggestions for this page, contact John McLain, ext. 6045.