Tag Archives: Liberal Education

Swoops, Fell and Fair

Not too long ago I had a week or so of Macbeth. Who knows why? In the space of seven days the Scottish Play thrust itself into my awareness a half-dozen times. And oddly enough, most of the attention fell … Continue reading

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College: Are We Paying, Investing, or Building Endowment?

Next fall, October 17-19 to be precise, Phi Beta Kappa will partner with the American Conference of Academic Deans in a conference with a question for a title: “Is There a Case for the Liberal Arts?” We pose the query … Continue reading

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The Dominion of Folly

It was Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1930-1941, who explained, at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Alpha of Rhode Island chapter at Brown University, that Phi Beta Kappa’s celebration of liberal education “signifies freedom … Continue reading

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Exactly?

You overhear things. Not so long ago, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I overheard a guy telling his companion, as we bypassed each other on the sidewalk: “My cousin is a veterinarian in Melbourne, Australia.” OK. Why was that worth conveying? What … Continue reading

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In Praise of Hard Reading

Over the entree at the Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards Dinner, April 6, 2013, I got a foretaste of Jim O’Donnell’s talk when I asked him if he had looked at Peter Brown’s recent book, Through the Eye of a … Continue reading

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Serendipity

A colleague showed me pictures from her cousin’s wedding, and we fell into a conversation about nuptiality.  I will spare the specifics, but it was about the impulse to marry.  This, then, deftly evading thought about the Wife of Bath, … Continue reading

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If You Exit Past This Sign, You Must Re-enter. . . .

“No! I don’t have to re-enter!” I protested in silence. “My aim is to leave this airport as expeditiously as possible and to stay away as long as I possibly can. Till day after tomorrow!” Let me be fair. The … Continue reading

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to spend the better part of a day with a collection of people who care deeply about the liberal arts and sciences. They were heads of various agencies in the Dupont Circle … Continue reading

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Dinner with a Friend

The other night I had a conversation over dinner with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. Our professional paths had crossed for decades when we were small college deans—I in Arkansas, and he in Minnesota and then the … Continue reading

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Not a Political Thing

The aggressive, hard-edged, get tough guys challenging higher education from state houses around the country have presented some overlapping nomenclature: Rick Perry, Rick Scott, Scott Walker. But now a new name has entered the scene: Governor Pat McCrory of North … Continue reading

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