ABOUT MENLO COLLEGE

Menlo College is developing graduates who will be critical thinkers, strategic communicators, and team players who can flourish, thrive, and lead in the workplace.

The College accomplishes this by incorporating the unique entrepreneurial, multicultural, and active lifestyle of the dynamic Silicon Valley and the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. At Menlo College, students are participants in preparing for their futures, not spectators.

Menlo forges links between the classrooms, residence halls, athletics, and the community at large to create an active, personalized, and engaging educational experience that prepares students for the complexities, challenges, and opportunities they will face in their personal and professional lives. The College’s extensive athletic program develops leadership and teamwork skills. Residential and student life programs engage students outside the classroom in group projects, cultural experiences, community service, and outdoor adventures.

These co-curricular activities complement the academic programs’ use of experiential learning techniques to provide breadth and depth to learning, helping students to be more versatile, adaptable, and innovative in communication and problem-solving skills. In addition, business students are required to complete a six-credit internship to further link the classroom to the real world. The College also engages in academic partnerships in Europe, Asia, and Latin America to help students develop a global and multi-cultural perspective.

HISTORY

Menlo College was founded in 1927 as a private residential college for men. Students could complete the first two years of college study before transferring to a university to complete undergraduate coursework.

In 1949, the School of Business Administration was established as a four-year program. In 1971, the College became a co-educational baccalaureate institution offering educational programs developed in response to social and technological change. Today, Menlo College is clearly focused on business education and its mission to educate and develop future business and community leaders.

LOCATION

The College is located on a 40-acre campus in the residential community of Atherton, California. A hallmark of the campus is its stately, old oak trees. Atherton is approximately 25 miles equidistant between San Francisco and San Jose. The nearby towns of Menlo Park and Palo Alto are small business communities with shopping centers and movie theaters that offer a large array of cultural activities. The College is located in the heart of the technological center of the United States, Silicon Valley.

Northern California is one of the most beautiful regions in the world, offering the splendor of Big Sur, the Monterey Peninsula, Napa Valley, the North Coast, the Gold Country, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, all of which are within driving distance from the Atherton campus.

STUDENTS

Menlo College has always attracted students from throughout the United States and abroad. Almost half of all states are represented by Menlo students, including California and other Western states, Hawaii, and beyond. Countries outside the United States are also wellrepresented, with students calling 35 different countries their home. The Menlo community is culturally and ethnically diverse. The variety of languages, experiences, and lifestyles represented at Menlo gives the College a cosmopolitan character.

FACULTY AND STAFF

The College’s faculty and staff reflect the unique diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area, sharing a strong interest in education with a focus on excellence in teaching and administration. Each student has an advisor whose objective is to develop a mentor relationship with the student. Additionally, many faculty and staff reside on campus and are active participants in student-based co-curricular activities.

GOVERNANCE

Ultimate responsibility for the welfare of the College rests with the President and the Board of Trustees. Academic policies and procedures are developed and maintained by a system of shared governance. Shared governance means that all members of the community, including students, faculty and administration, have a voice in the governing of the College. Faculty are represented primarily by the Faculty Senate. Students are represented by the Menlo College Student Government Association.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

Menlo College’s Board of Trustees believes that truth is found and learning is fostered by the free exchange of ideas and by free investigation. The Board regards diversity of opinion as a corollary of academic freedom and recognizes that this diversity may include opinions that are unpopular and contrary to established positions.

The purpose of this academic freedom statement is to protect individual members of the faculty from dismissal, coercion, or harassment because of their views. Faculty members are entitled as citizens to freely express their views without recrimination. Faculty members are entitled to full freedom in their choice of research subjects and methodology and in the publication of their research results. The Board of Trustees expects that free investigation and expression will often engender vigorous controversy. Positions may be taken that contradict prevailing ideas and beliefs. However unpopular the opinions expressed, the Board values free intellectual discourse and therefore commits Menlo College to the defense of academic freedom.

In that spirit, the President and the Board of Trustees call upon the faculty to recognize the special responsibilities that membership in the academic profession entails. They expect faculty members to demonstrate professional responsibility in all academically related pursuits by encouraging the free pursuit of learning among students, by treating them and their opinions with dignity and respect, and by respecting and defending their colleagues’ right of free inquiry