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AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
1
TheSourceInterview:
“TheFranklinIdentity”
Defining the identity of a collective sphere can be quite a daunting concept to elaborate.
LookingattheEnglishDictionary,wedefineidentityas“thecharacteristicsdeterminingwho
or what a person or thing is”. When we look at Franklin University it is clear that the
interculturalbackgroundofmanymembersofourcommunitymakethisacademicinstitution
a vibrant, dynamic and unique place to be a part of: People make up the culture of an
organization and this latter will undoubtedly shape the Franklin identity, and because the
studentbodycontinuouslychanges,sowilltheculturetoacertainextent.Thisarticlewants
to address the need for our students to lookback at Franklin’s history, knowing thatwhat
happenedyesterdaywillforeverinfluencethepresentandthefutureofthiscommunity.Itis
crucialthatanunmovablefoundationbemaintainedsothateveryfutureFranklinstudentwill
carrytheoriginalidentityofthisuniversity,buildingonthelegacythatwasonceforged.The
goalofanyadministrationandregulatorybodyistocreaterules inordertomaintainorder
andeffectivelyrun theorganization,howeveranotherpivotal task is toestablish traditions,
valuesandcollectivelysharedideas;thuscreatingacultureandanidentityofitsown.Inthis
waytheuniversityhastheabilitytofosteragreatersenseofbelongingforitsmembersand
conveyhoweveryoneinourcommunityshouldfeelthattheyareanessentialcomponentthat
makesthisinstitutionspecial.
OnThursday,April7thIhadthepleasuretoconductanindepthinterviewwiththeformerVP
of the Advancement Department (from 2009 until 2015): Robert Pallone. During our 54-
minutediscussionweweretalkingaboutthehistoryofFranklin,howunderstandingthefull
picturecouldpotentiallystrengthenourcommunityandfurthersolidifythevaluesandideas
thatthisinstitutionhasinstilledineveryoneoneofus.Whenwebecomeaccustomedtowhat
we have, we often underestimate how numerous traditions have played a decisive role in
defining the Franklin culture: The yearly events like Oktoberfest, Carnevale and Holi, the
manner inwhichour classes are setupaswell as the constantneed to travel andexplore;
theseareallexamplesofwhatmakesFranklinuniqueandthusportraysaclear identity for
the institution. However these factors alone are not the entirety of the equation because
symbols and historical occurrences have also influenced and shaped the Franklin identity.
Whatweknowisthat“FranklinUniversitySwitzerland,namedfortheUnitedStates’firstand
AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
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most illustrious ambassador to Europe, was
founded in 1969 as Franklin College, a nonprofit,
independent,postsecondary institution”.Weknow
that the school was founded by Theo Brenner,
Jaques Villaret, Pascal F. Tone,Wilfried Geens and
Pietro Cassina, we know that this institution
changed its location throughout the decades since
its inception; however is this allwe can say about
ourhistory?Ithinkwecandobetterthanthat.
Backin2014Ihadtheopportunitytoworkfortheadvancementdepartmentandonthevery
firstdayofintroductiontomyfuturetasks,RobertshowedmyteammatesandIamarvelous
artifact: A short 20minute clip recorded by a former facultymember in the early 1970’s,
portraying the origins of Franklin College,whywas it founded
andmostimportantlyhow:Theestablishmentofthisinstitution
“wasdonebyaformerfacultymemberandagroupofstudents
atthetime,itneedstobeedited,becausewhenwesplitofffrom
Tasis therewas a certain themeof rebellion by the end of the
60's”; thisquoteextracted from the transcriptof the interview
portraysanunfamiliaraspectofFranklin’shistory:Indeedwhat
weused to recognize asFranklinCollege,wasoriginally called
FlemingCollege; basedon the lastnameof the founderofThe
American School in Switzerland (TASIS):M.Crist Fleming.The
video previously mentioned portrays the intertwined
relationshipthatthetwoinstitutionssharedandhowthefallout
ofthisoriginaltiecreatedabrandnewentity.
The video “from a historical point of view is great towatch, nonetheless from the point of
view of our relationship with Tasis we want to make sure we don't sponsor this fall out
between the two organizations”, the quote emphasizes on the extreme delicacy of the
situation in which Franklin College and Tasis were at the time and how resurfacing old
woundsmightbringunwantedconsequences.Nonethelessit isabsurdthatavideolikethis,
(FranklinCollegeFounders)
M.CristFleming/FounderofTASIS&FlemingCollege
AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
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anartifactthatclearlyrepresentsouruniversity,hasneverbeeneditedandsharedwiththe
restofourcommunity.Mr.Palloneclearlyexpressedhisstateofmindwhenhesaid:
“Studentsaretherealownersoftheuniversity,andwecanmaketheanalogythattheymove
intoanewhouseandtheyhavenocluewholivedinandtheycanaskthemselvesquestions
likewhywasthishousebuilthere?Whatwastheintentionoftheoriginalownerstochangeto
anewlocation?Studentsdon'thavethisknowledgeandI’vearguedaboutthiscomponent
missingfromtheFranklinexperienceforyears,infactIusedtoshowfirstyearstudentsthat
videoIshowedyou,thattalkedaboutFranklinandaddingafewslidestotalkaboutthe
historyofourschoolandIbelievethatisimportant”
BothRobertandIagreedonthe lackof informationthatstudentshaveaboutthehistoryof
our university. At first it may seem like a frivolous aspect of Franklin’s curriculum and
experience,howeverwhenyou lookat the low levelof integrationthatdifferentcultures in
ourstudentbodyportray,webelievethatgainingfactsabouttheheritage,originsandreasons
fortheinceptionofthisschoolcouldbeapowerfulcatalystthatcanpotentiallybringallofus
closer.BecausebeingamemberofFranklinUniversity issomethingweallhave incommon
andthetrueidentitythatthisacademicinstitutionholdshasbeenkeptdormant,waitingtobe
awakened.
Robert mentioned his view about the lack of cultural cohesiveness and integration that is
currentlypresentatFranklinand“clearlycrossculturalattractionisattheheartofwhatwe
do.Thegoalistoletstudentsintegratewitheachother.HoweverwhenIwalkoncampusIsee
alotofsmallgroupsandallfairlyhomogeneous,themorecommonphenomenonthatoccurs
ispeoplehangingoutwithotherstudents fromsimilarbackgroundsbecause it'seasierand
oftentimes itseemsscaryhavingtodealwiththeunknown, if it'smorecomfortable just to
hang out people from our country; we have to nudge that. So I believe that is a lost
opportunityreallyandFranklinhadmoreculturalintegrationbackintheolddays,duringthe
70s, that's the feeling I’ve been getting from older alumni”. Of course this quote can be
understoodassomeone’ssubjectiveopinionandtotestwhetherornotthisclaimwasindeed
accurate,intheweekstocomeaftertheinterview,Idistributedasurveytothestudentbody
in order to gather empirical evidence to back up Robert’s assumptions. The survey was
definitelyasuccessand34responsesweregathered,whichmadethesamplesizestatistically
significantfortheresearch.
AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
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Aswecanviewfromthishistogram,itisevidentthatoutofthe34participants,73.5%ofthe
sample size either agreed
orstronglyagreedwiththe
statement above.
According to Mr. Pallone
students back in the days
were more culturally
integrated then now, why
is that so? I think it is
becausestudentsbackthen
were highly aware of their
college’shistoryandwereextremelyproudtobepartofsuchauniqueandspecialcommunity
intheworld.
“Youknowthereshouldbeaplacewhereyouwalkthroughandhavetheartifactsthatshow
whyweexistsandwhyitisimportanttoshowthesethings,showingpicturesthatportraythe
successthatpreviousstudentsachievedintheirlives.Peoplehavegoneontodoimportant
stuffintheworld,aguywhoendedupbecomingtheeditoroftheWashingtonpostwasa
franklinalumniandawomanfromthemiddleeastwhoendedupbecomingthefirstfemale
bondtraderinhercountry.Youhearotheralumnisay"Franklinchangedmylife"andIthink
thattalkingaboutthehistory,howithaschangedthelivesofmanyandhowitwilleventually
influencethelivesofmanyfuturestudentsgivesashortpreviewofwhattheirexperienceis
goingtobe.Ifstudentswereshownhowuniqueanddifferentthisexperienceisandhow
unusualitistobeinthisinstitutionandemphasizethesevirtuesofbeingastudenthere,
peoplewouldfeelproudrightfromthestart”
Onceagainwewillportraytheresultsfromthesurveytoshowjusthowmuchourstudents
careaboutthehistoryandheritageoftheircommunityandhowlittletheyfeeltheyknow
aboutFranklin’s:
AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
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Thepercentagesspeakforthemselves,whenweseethat64.7%oftheresponsesagreedand
strongly agreed about the importance that history holds for our students. Meanwhile the
second histogram shows how 55.8% of the participants disagreed and strongly disagreed
aboutthestatement.
Students are proud to be at
Franklin and this can be clearly
showed by the data collected,
whichconveysanoverwhelmingly
positive sign for the institution.
Nonetheless when people get
accustomed to the university,
whentheystarttakingforgranted
whattheyhaveandtheincredible
opportunitytostudyhere,history isalwaysanoblecompanionthatwillkeepremindingus
justhowluckywereallyare.
“Studentsneedtofeelthattheyarepartofsomething
bigger.Especiallywhenyoulookatthe4founders,at
thetimewhentheworldwasataveryfragile
geopoliticalstage,throughtheColdWarandthe
VietnamWar;therewasalotofuneaseintheworld.It's
AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
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importanttostatethatthisschoolwasfoundedin
Switzerland,aneutralnation,it'seasiertounderstandwhy
weareinthiscountryinthefirstplace,addingtheinfluence
ofhugehistoricaloccurrencesandmakingtheworldorder
seemveryunstable…Itexplainsalotastothedecisionto
movetoSwitzerland.Ifstudentscouldunderstandthatin
somehistoricalcontext,itraisestheirvalueoftheFranklin
education;theystarttounderstandwhythisschoolisso
special.Showingtheimportanceoftheuniversity'sestablishmentthroughthemacro
historicalcontextswouldbeagreatwaytoputthingsintoperspective.”
This quote is very powerful at conveying just how surreal the historical background was
whenFranklin Collegewas founded, and if studentswere presentedwith this new, yet old
information, therewouldbeadefiniteshiftofperceptiontowardsthe imageandidentityof
thisinstitution.Theresultsonceagainbackupthepreviousallegations,seeinghow61.8%of
studentsagreedand
strongly agreed
with the statement.
Now that we have
all this information
at hand and
knowing thatwedo
have the recorded
footage, which
portrays the pivotal
transitionofour institutionwhengaining its independence,whatwouldbe thebestway to
integratesuchknowledgeandeffectivelypropagatethismessagetoourcommunity?
Towards the end of our discussion, Robert brought up one idea that the university could
experimentwith:“I'vealwaysthoughtthereshouldbeanon-creditcoursethatismandatory
for your first year. Which tells you about the history, values and mission of Franklin and
putting all of these aspects of the university into a theoretical framework and how that
syllabuswould fit into thisnewcourse:Youknowtake toursaroundtheoldcampuses that
FranklinusedtohaveandmaybeevencallinalumnitotalkinclassorviaSkypetotelltheir
AndreaFasoli COM310 05/05/16
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stories”.Thisisoneidea
that could possibly be
put into action and
there are myriads of
other possibilities for
the university to raise
awareness about its
history. The last
question of the survey asks the student bodywhether the university should providemore
debates,releasearticlesorevenintroduceseminarsaboutitshistoryandorigins;especially
to future first year students. The results clearly conveyedhow these ideas are acceptedby
64.7%oftheparticipants,wishingthattheywouldonedaybecomeareality.
It is clear that history is a crucial aspect of anyorganization’s identity andFranklin’s is no
exception. Our community has been kept in the dark for too long and quite frankly, our
historycanbevaluedasmovie-material.Itistimeforouruniversitytoshareitsoriginsand
heritagewiththerestofussothatwemayallstandtallandproudtosaythatwewillhonor
our institution’shistory, thatwewill carry itsvalueswhereverour liveswill takeus in the
future;butmostimportantly,wewillneverforgethowmuchFranklinUniversityhaschanged
ourlivesforthebetter.
Citations:
1. Definitionof“identity”|CollinsEnglishDictionary.(n.d.).InCollinsDictionary|AlwaysFreeOnline.Retrievedfromhttp://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/identity
2. History|FUS.(n.d.).Retrievedfromhttp://www.fus.edu/about/history
3. TASISTheAmericanSchoolinSwitzerland:AboutUs.(n.d.).Retrievedfromhttp://switzerland.tasis.com/page.cfm?p=2