Larry P. Arnn told the Collegian he’s relieved he didn’t get picked for Secretary of Education, and the student body should be relieved too.
To those excited by the prospect of Arnn becoming Secretary of Education and flushing our corrupt education system, don’t fret. Michigander Betsy DeVos is a great pick, and will bring Hillsdale plenty of publicity: her brother, Erik Prince, is a 1992 Hillsdale College grad and the founder of Blackwater Security Company (now called Academi). Her father-in-law, Richard DeVos, cofounded Amway with Jay Van Andel, whose son Steve Van Andel graduated from Hillsdale in 1978. The Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship is named for Steve Van Andel, who has made notable donations to Hillsdale as an alumnus.
She’s also indirectly promoted dozens of aspiring artists through her family’s creation of ArtPrize, an international art competition held in Grand Rapids. Just this year alone, five Hillsdale professors and students were able to showcase their work at to an international audience at the competition.
But DeVos is more than just a friend of Hillsdale. She’s a staunch advocate for school choice and reform, and believes children should have more options than public school or pricey private academies. She’s served on numerous boards pushing school reform, she’s anti-Common Core, and she even has Arnn’s stamp of approval: he said he “very much” approves of DeVos.
To lose Arnn would be nothing short of devastating for Hillsdale. Under Arnn’s leadership, charitable gifts to the college have increased by 95 percent and we’ve gotten the Knorr Student Union, the Searle Center, Bon Appetit, renovated dorms, and expanded departments.
Arnn embodies the vision and mission of Hillsdale. Every time Arnn stands up to speak, he inspires us with the courage to pursue the good, the true, and the beautiful, and he reminds us why we do what we do here at Hillsdale.
Even though the prospect of an Arnn-less lunchtime cafeteria is inviting, we should be thankful he’s still here to lead us.
