My colleague Brad Bateman has objected mildly to this classification of graduates, arguing that it neglects graduates who enter the business world, who also contribute to the excellence of their college.
I reply that to some extent these graduates are included under the heading of ``leaders,'' which is not intended to connote only politicians. I am reluctant to acknowledge ``successful businesspersons'' as a separate category, because I think that as such they don't actually distinguish excellent liberal-arts colleges from average ones. (However, I acknowledge some bias here.)
In any case, I do not think of the six types of graduates as an exhaustive classification. Certainly every liberal-arts college, even an excellent one, has many graduates who would not fit easily into any of the six types. But I continue to think that the college's excellence is better reflected in the six types than in those other graduates.
created February 2, 1998
last revised February 2, 1998