Each generation of students inevitably must confront anew the fundamental questions of meaning and value that have vexed human beings down through the ages. As students have struggled with these "Big Questions," individually and collectively, liberal education has traditionally sought to provide them with a variety of cultural and historical…

Skills and values other than the formal curriculum's content are implicitly taught through the traditional approach to the liberal arts, and some of these may foster development of qualities that are dysfunctional in our society. (MSE)

Recently, higher education policy and practice has become dominated by materialism, individualism, and competitiveness, at the expense of attention to the affective aspect of student development and, in a broader perspective, to the emotional and spiritual divisions that threaten humanity. Higher education can and should be more constructive. (MSE)

Underscores the value and responsibilities of institutional autonomy in higher education. Challenges institutions to pay more attention to the development of such qualities as citizenship, character, honesty, and social responsibilities and to reflect these values in the curriculum, pedagogical methods, personnel policies, resource allocation, and…

A review of national college student surveys since 1966 reveals that trends in student attitudes focusing more on material goals and less on social problems are beginning to reverse direction. There is growing evidence of increasing orientation toward social activism and protection of the environment. (Author/MSE)

This lecture decries the lack of any real sense of community in the modern university. It argues that the fundamental difficulty of creating a greater sense of community in higher education institutions is a problem of values. Competitiveness and materialism are emphasized more than those values that support and nurture a sense of community. There…