Harry
Targ
Sometimes we wake up with a multiplicity of ideas swirling around in our heads. Today I thought about the rich and diverse debate going on in discussion groups at universities around the country. Among the issues that interest me, particularly from my own research and writing agenda include:
-the nature and purposes of 21st century higher education (for society)
-the work forces necessary to achieve the goals of the university
-how decisions involving education are made
-the role of the citizenry, students, faculty, staff in decision-making
-funding higher education
-metrics for assessment: profits, richness of educational experiences, student well-being, contributions of education to society
-curricula: STEM, humanities, social sciences, and/or a model of knowledge that sees them all as interconnected.
-impacts of the funding of higher education by the public, corporations, the military, religious institutions
-connections between universities and the communities in which they reside: public spaces, residences, businesses.
Perhaps having these conversations now is appropriate, given the crises, short and long-term, we face. If we do not address some or all of these questions now, decisions might be made for us, or decisions will occur, almost inadvertently as administrators respond issue by issue.
As a graduate student in the 1960s I remember the excitement, vitality of debate, and chaos that was occurring on college campuses. It was a time of unbridled growth in higher education (in some ways the opposite of today), emerging criticisms of the university connections with war and militarism, and growing self-reflection on race and gender in higher education.
Sometimes we wake up with a multiplicity of ideas swirling around in our heads. Today I thought about the rich and diverse debate going on in discussion groups at universities around the country. Among the issues that interest me, particularly from my own research and writing agenda include:
-the nature and purposes of 21st century higher education (for society)
-the work forces necessary to achieve the goals of the university
-how decisions involving education are made
-the role of the citizenry, students, faculty, staff in decision-making
-funding higher education
-metrics for assessment: profits, richness of educational experiences, student well-being, contributions of education to society
-curricula: STEM, humanities, social sciences, and/or a model of knowledge that sees them all as interconnected.
-impacts of the funding of higher education by the public, corporations, the military, religious institutions
-connections between universities and the communities in which they reside: public spaces, residences, businesses.
Perhaps having these conversations now is appropriate, given the crises, short and long-term, we face. If we do not address some or all of these questions now, decisions might be made for us, or decisions will occur, almost inadvertently as administrators respond issue by issue.
As a graduate student in the 1960s I remember the excitement, vitality of debate, and chaos that was occurring on college campuses. It was a time of unbridled growth in higher education (in some ways the opposite of today), emerging criticisms of the university connections with war and militarism, and growing self-reflection on race and gender in higher education.
Paradoxically a full
embrace of a growth-oriented economic model of higher education (that
paralleled growth in the economy at large) generated discourse and debate that
challenged the growth dynamics. Discussion in some classrooms or in “free universities” proceeded in a non-traditional way while much of higher education continued on a path supporting corporate globalization,
the full realization of the national security state, and the achievement of the
promise of “American exceptionalism.” What was exciting and important about
those days in the university was the vibrancy of the debate about the dominant ways of thinking about higher education. The spreading debates engaged
citizens of states, students, faculty, staff, and politicians. (Some of these
reflections are described more extensively below).
As difficult as its seems today, that debate about the nature, purposes, and vision of higher education in the 21st century needs to proceed or decisions about the immediate future will be made by small bodies of decision-makers with very selective stakes in the outcomes. Task forces of faculty, students, staffs, and citizens need to begin conversations now or the future will be decided accidentally or by those with limited visions and interests.
As difficult as its seems today, that debate about the nature, purposes, and vision of higher education in the 21st century needs to proceed or decisions about the immediate future will be made by small bodies of decision-makers with very selective stakes in the outcomes. Task forces of faculty, students, staffs, and citizens need to begin conversations now or the future will be decided accidentally or by those with limited visions and interests.
