Education and educational institutions are central to how and why the United States is what it is the world today - a land of opportunity, a beacon of hope, and a champion for the rule of law. Most believe that education and our educational institutions are critical pieces for the future that we want for our country. Jon Meacham, the Editor of Newsweek, has written a wonderful piece,  In Defense of the Liberal Arts, acknowledging this.

I appreciate the obvious love that he has for his own experience and, as well, his recognition that we need lots of different kinds of programs and institutions to do the work that education must do in our society. He says:

For some the future will be shaped by a Sewanee [Meacham's alma mater], for others by a business course taught online. The unifying theme that connected my own musings among the bishops (living and dead) was straightforward: if the country is to prosper—economically, culturally, morally—we have to trust in the institutions, old and new, that nurture creativity, and then hope for the best.

There’s plenty of work to be done and room for institutions serving a broad spectrum of missions. Here’s to finding common ground rather than focusing what divides us.

In last week’s Newsweek, there were two articles that heralded the need for change in higher education. Yet, sadly, they promised more than they delivered. First Senator Lamar Alexander led with the cover story, “Why College Should Take Only Three Years.” This is a great idea, one that the European Union has embraced in its “Bologna Process”, among others. But then, instead of developing the educational rationale and suggesting a model for the three year BA, Alexander, a legitimate educational reformer as Governor of Tennessee, falls back on bromides: “college is expensive so let’s do it faster”, and “a three year degree is cramming four years of courses into three years”.

Then, a round-table discussion group promised us thoughts on “The Role of Higher Education” in the 21^st century. Again, sadly, the promise is clouded by disagreements about whether students need to know more or less these days, with opinions that varied from no, to yes, to reducing the four year BA would be bad. Through it all, Bob Zemsky and Michael Crow carry the heavier water, arguing for rethinking the enterprise, not just re-packaging it.

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