This paper argues that universities need to reclaim a public and inclusive language for education that reflects the moral ends and purposes of academic practice. It claims that there are certain moral goods implicit in the activities--of research, scholarship and teaching--that comprise such practice; and it defines these goods in terms of virtuous dispositions towards truthfulness, respect and authenticity. The moral conditions of academic reconstruction necessarily include a commitment by academic practitioners to the development, in themselves and others, to these goods of learning. (Contains 1 note.)