And it might have been, if not for the right leadership. Father Placidus appointed Brother Philip Valley as the program's first director and Sociology Professor William Farrell as his assistant. Mahoney recalls Brother Philip's deliberative decision-making and open votes as keys to the program's early success. "Even if not everyone agreed on things there was a strong sense of faculty ownership of the program." And agreement was sometimes far from unanimous. Few today, for example, realize that the decision to study individuals instead of archetypes in the sophomore year was a tie vote, with Brother Philip casting the tiebreaking vote.

Originally housed in the North Lounge of Cushing Center, the Humanities Program got its current home in the brand new Dana Center in 1978. Most alumni's recollections of the program are inextricably linked with the Dana Center where they attended lectures and seminars twice a week for two years. Most also recall the spirited lectures of Brother Andrew Thornton who directed the program from 1982 to 1998. They also remark on the talents of Jane Romps, secretary of the program, who began in May 1978 and continues today as a fixture and administrative force.

An Enduring Conversation
Referred to as "the core of the core" or "the cornerstone of the curriculum," the program is recognized as the hallmark of the college's liberal arts identity. Considering that the average life span of a general education requirement at other institutions is usually less than 10 years, Portraits' staying power is rather remarkable. Endorsed by the National Review and praised by former NEH Chairman Lynn Cheney and Senator Judd Gregg, Portraits was featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education in 1991. The article noted that the program had "proven as reliable as the swarm of presidential candidates that descend on this state every four years."

Portraits' capacity to remain vital for as long as it has can be attributed to a paradox inherent in its founding. Namely, it derives its strength from the joining together of several disciplines, and it derives its energy from the disagreements between these disciplines. As Professor Mahoney observes, "I don't think there was ever one absolute vision of the program that everyone accepted or even understood in the same way." Portraits of Human Greatness, therefore, whatever else it does, provokes conversations that simply do not take place on most campuses where historians, philosophers, philologists, and theologians do not engage in regular, substantive dialogue about how to approach a controversial idea, a human value, a biblical text, a period of history, or an epic poem.

"The Humanities Program teaches us to move among disciplines," says Philosophy Professor Monte Brown. "Since we study literature, philosophy, theology, history, art, music, and science, we must come to grips with the differences between these disciplines. We can't go after them all in the same way. If we're not aware of the need for different methods, we can reduce the many dimensions of intelligibility to a few, or even one. This distorts our understanding of the world and the human condition." Hence, the program requires an ongoing conversation, not just about methodology, but intent, outcomes, and yes, values.

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