The author proposes that "societal renewal" and the engagement required to accomplish that renewal should be the core of the university. By focusing on the basic building blocks of good citizenship (civic knowledge and civic action) the university can weave, at relatively low cost, programs and classes into its core. Using Northwestern…

William Rainey Harper, president of the University of Chicago from 1891 to 1906, declared that "the university is the Messiah of the democracy, its to-be-expected deliverer." The university has not always adopted that sacred charge willingly or effectively. We need to cut to the quick and demonstrate that democracy cannot survive without…

This article explores some of the components of innovation that U.S. universities abroad can seize, or in some cases have seized, upon to maximize information flow, productivity, and idea generation at their overseas institutions. Using research in psychology, education, economics, and other fields, the article identifies the following as among…

Most students enter Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) poorly prepared to face the challenges and seize the opportunities of an American-style education grounded in the liberal arts owing to their inadequate preparation in grade school. NU-Q's mission is to produce graduates who will be leaders and innovators in the media industry and…

This essay uses the experience of one community engagement program at the American University of Beirut (AUB), a prominent private university in Lebanon, to reflect on the value and challenges of civic engagement in a non-Western context. It describes the Lebanese sectarian political system, provides an overview of the AUB Neighborhood Initiative,…

The dominant model of university education featuring one-way communication in a desocialized setting that celebrates competition is fundamentally at odds with the evolutionarily attuned attributes of the human brain. Quest University Canada represents an alternative of engaged, collaborative learning that builds on the eusocial nature of our…

Henry W. Sams served on the editorial boards of "College English," "College Composition and Communication," and the "Journal of General Education." He was able to influence the kinds of articles on composition and rhetoric being published throughout this period, and he and his colleagues increased broad awareness of rhetorical study. The present…

This article addresses the importance of leadership in general education reform, using three case studies. We argue that campus leadership that fosters collaboration, trust, and a sense of stewardship among constituents is more likely to be successful in the challenging task of substantially reforming general education curricula.

The debate over the best delivery of general education, whether through a canon of Great Books, a core curriculum of specific courses and course sequences, or a distribution requirement of course types providing for greater student choice, has existed for generations. Today, the debate plays out in practice across the top-rated colleges and…

Describes mixed results for faculty development programs implemented at the State University of New York. Reports that bringing experts in for workshops and providing faculty incentives for course development were not successful, but that a one- to four-week summer training seminar was. Proposes 10 principles for successful faculty development.…

One feature of contemporary life for which national systems of education have been slow to make provision is the increasing mobility of families across national frontiers. How are their children to be educated? It was as a contribution to solving this problem that the International Baccalaureate was first conceived in Geneva some ten years ago.…

Article examined some of the problems that teachers of literature face and argued for the classroom utility of Frye's critical theory, one that permits a definition of the subject, the development of central principles and a taxonomy of forms. (Editor/RK)

Author argued that private colleges and universities must once again come to prize diverse personality types and abilities other than those measured by quantitative scores. Unless they do so, he suggested they will fail to reflect the values of society and have little influence on its future directions. (Editor/RK)

Article offered a personal reminiscence about the confrontation between one young man and the university admissions process just after World War II. (Editor/RK)

Shares the experiences of a History of Ideas instructor in teaching freshman writing classes. Discusses personal perceptions of writing instructors held prior to teaching Freshman Comp, the new composition paradigm employed, reading and writing assignments, and the potential and limitations of Freshman Comp for improving writing. (DMM)