by Rusty Fisher

In a recent interview, President  Peter Eden addressed one of the biggest topics on most students’ minds: will I be able to get a job with a diploma from Landmark College? Dr. Eden said that he wants to help this community continually improve and broaden  Landmark’s overall reputation.

“Because we have a bachelor’s degree now,” said Eden, “the Landmark name has to be respected more than ever for potential employers and grad schools.”

Dr. Eden also talked about trying to make sure that attending Landmark will not affect  students’ chances of getting a job. Dr. Eden made the point that he does not want students to feel that they need to hide the fact that they have attended Landmark, a specialized, unique college.

“Some might  worry that the occasional  employer, who does not understand  Landmark College, will have concerns about the student’s work and communications capabilities,” said Dr. Eden.

This may be the greatest impact of the new B.A. degree. At present, most Landmark students pursue a B.A. or a B.S. somewhere else after graduating or transferring from Landmark. Then when an employer sees their résumés, the school they likely focus on is the school where they earned their  B.A. or B.S. Now Dr. Eden wants students to  proudly and confidently convey that they graduated from Landmark with a baccalaureate degree.

In the interview, Dr. Eden emphasized that he is determined to make Landmark the best school in the nation for students who  learn differently.   “We need to continue on the simple path of making Landmark the best college in the nation which  happens to be engineered for students who have learning disabilities,” said Dr. Eden.

Some of the differences between the associate’s and bachelor’s degrees at Landmark are that the B.A. is going to have upper level courses and experiences which will challenge the students much more. The curriculum will not only contain general survey courses, but also courses focused on specific areas of interest to students. Work at the 3000- and 4000-level will become more sophisticated, and students will be expected to understand things at a higher level. In general, there will be increased rigor.

When asked what his favorite  part of working at Landmark is,  Dr. Eden  replied that he really likes interacting directly with students and being in a position to help them. This is because he used to be a professor  and doesn’t get to spend as much time with students as he’d like.

Dr. Eden talked about the fact that he has an open-door policy – and that he has to do it not just because it is part of his style but also because  it’s a smart business model and approach. Also Dr. Eden said that he really likes to multi-task,  which is a good thing, since there is a lot going on in the College  all of the time.

Dr. Eden used to teach molecular biology and biotechnology, and as a result of his previous experience in the science field he considers Landmark to be somewhat similar, i.e. a place where discovery can happen every day, with every student, faculty member or staff member.  This is because we experiment with different learning styles and teaching methods along with new kinds of technology.

When asked about the challenges and opportunities that students face, Dr. Eden replied that on top of being college students (with all of the inherent challenges and disruptions that come with being a college student) we also have LD issues layered on. As a result of this, students who struggled a little in school will struggle even more now because of all the responsibility they are expected to be accountable for. Some examples of this are time management, discipline, and procrastination.

When asked about possible renovations for the upper campus, Dr. Eden replied that their main goal right now is to focus on getting a science, technology and innovation facility.  He did comment that every year they spend significant funds to renovate, modernize, and improve the residence halls. There has also been discussion coming from SGA about opening a coffee house up the hill.

Dr. Eden said that if we grow significantly in enrollment we may need to do some additional construction on the upper campus, and there are already serious discussions about finding a location on campus for a better soccer/lacrosse stadium  Also, there have been proposals on better ways to get up the hill. One recent proposal is  to create a diagonal path in order to lessen the steep climb students and others have to make now. The other challenge at hand is how to make the hill more attractive in general – perhaps by creating an arboretum on the face of the hill.

When asked why he wanted to work at Landmark above all other colleges, Dr. Eden’s reply was that he wanted to be president of a small college because they are typically more agile and less bureaucratic.

Dr. Eden said that considers his strengths to be his ability to move quickly and be entrepreneurial, and that his leadership skills are well-suited to a climate of rapid change. Dr. Eden told The Independent that when he was first looking at Landmark, he was unaware that it was a school only for students with LD’s. One of the main things that attracted Dr. Eden to the school was the fact that he felt that Landmark was already strong due to the history, resilience, faculty and staff, but also was ready to metamorphose into something even better. ♦