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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

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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

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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.

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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:

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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

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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

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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