If having acute viral nasopharyngitis wasn’t enough noise in my head, this week I listened to two very good speakers address two very important topics. The first, on Wednesday, was Gordon Freedman, Vice President for Education Strategy at Blackboard Inc. His affiliation to Blackboard aside, Gordon was on campus where he spoke passionately and purposefully about the desperate need to improve public education. Although Gordon has a special interest in advancing the charter school concept, an interest I don’t entirely share with him, he has a clear vision of a much different and much improved public education system than we currently have in the US. A vision, incidentally, I do share with him.
On the following day, I listened to a compelling audio presentation by Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Her presentation on Liberal Education for Everyone — Transforming Professional and Liberal Arts Programs reminded me of a lecture Leon Botstein gave at Xavier University of Louisiana several years ago when I was on the faculty there. In each, the speakers exposed the threats to a liberal education and the dire need for a liberally educated populace.
As enjoyable as each presentation was this week, the difficult work lies ahead in making use of the ideas to affect excellence in what we do for students here. First things first, though: I gotta get over this nasty cold.
Todd S. 