McPherson, A Specialty College
Jay Leno Promotes McPherson College on Television
Why would Jay Leno, television celebrity, promote a small college in central Kansas? What makes it so special? It is one of a kind in the nation.
Jay's love of antique cars is no secret to anyone who watches The Tonight Show. Leno’s enthusiasm for Duesenbergs and classics is well known to many Americans. But, as Jay Leno tries to keep his beloved cars in top condition, he is learning that car restoration is a dying skill as are many hands-on careers. He once had to contract an 80-year-old machinist in Chicago to make a part for his car that was no longer available anywhere. That is when he got interested in McPherson College.
McPherson, Kansas
As you take the exit into McPherson, the typical businesses greet you: Holiday Inn Express, Days Inn, Applebee’s and Wal-Mart. The town of approximately 15,000 in the middle of Mennonite country looks like many other towns in the Midwest. However, two structures do make McPherson different. One is a large oil refinery and the other is McPherson College, not so large.
The College
McPherson College was founded in 1887 as a liberal arts college. Not so unusual. However, in 2002 McPherson opened its doors to the nation’s only 4-year Bachelor of Science Degree in Car Restoration. In 1976, the college offered a two-year program in car restoration but this has ended and been replaced with the 4-year program. The college also offers traditional liberal arts disciplines but the largest percentage, 110 students, are enrolled in the College of Car Restoration. McPherson is not seeing an enrollment slump. In fact, new dorms are slated for construction.
The college offers five majors in Car Restoration:
- Historic Auto Technology
- Auto Restoration Management
- Auto Communications
- Auto Restoration Design
- Auto Restoration Technology
This campus is in the minority of colleges enjoying a male dominated campus. Most colleges today have a female dominated campus. The reverse is true at McPherson. However, the auto restoration program is a blend of males and females.
The Cars
Jonathan Klinger, McPherson’s former director of automotive restoration says, "Our main product is students; cars are a byproduct. Students go through classes faster than cars. It’s a learning process, and they make mistakes." [Fred Brock, New York Times, June 11, 2006] The program may only restore one or two cars per year. Where do they go after that? McPherson cars are featured at the Barrett-Jackson auctions attended by avid car collectors.
Templeton Hall
The magic begins at Templeton Hall. The car restoration program is housed in Templeton on campus. It is like a hospital for classic, aging cars. The students breathe life into dying vehicles. Templeton Hall has an abundance of specialty rooms:
- Body repair
- Paint
- Sheet metal fabrication
- Upholstery and wood
- Transmission rebuilding
- Framework
The instructors have unique backgrounds. One is a recent graduate of the program, another hails from NASA where he worked as an electrical engineer and one left a career in graphic design to join the McPherson restoration staff.
Leno’s Contribution
Jay Leno doesn’t just promote the college on The Tonight Show.
- He has established a generous scholarship for a student each year with the cooperation of Popular Mechanics in the amount of $20,000. This is a full-ride scholarship to the college.
- Leno also donates his monthly Popular Mechanics column pay to the program.
- In addition, one student each year has the opportunity to experience a summer internship in the shop of Randy Ema, a California Duesenberg expert. How is that for something to have on your resume?
"I consider automotive restoration the same as restoring paintings by the Old Masters. I call it automotive archaeology; you take something that’s 100 years old and you want to recreate it as it was. I want to help give respect to this skill and people learning it," says Leno. [Fred Brock, New York Times, June 11, 2006]
Source: The New York Times
Visit McPherson College online.
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Copyright article 2008 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
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