Are we entertainers, distracting young people from the realities of personal and social responsibility? I think not.
Are we job finders for employment market new entrants (called "students")? No!
Are we a haven for critical, reflective thinking about society past, present, and future? Emphatically, YES YES YES.
Painfully, just as society as a whole is transcending the limiting modern/industrial mindset, universities are adopting the managerial capitalism logic with fervour and immodest expectations. I'm clear that universities have a service role, but it is society we serve, not customers. As we suffuse 'market forces' into our thinking, we devalue the very thing universities have stood for, in some cases for centuries.
What is our mission in the post-industrial era?
ReplyDeleteAre we entertainers, distracting young people from the realities of personal and social responsibility? I think not.
Are we job finders for employment market new entrants (called "students")? No!
Are we a haven for critical, reflective thinking about society past, present, and future? Emphatically, YES YES YES.
Painfully, just as society as a whole is transcending the limiting modern/industrial mindset, universities are adopting the managerial capitalism logic with fervour and immodest expectations. I'm clear that universities have a service role, but it is society we serve, not customers. As we suffuse 'market forces' into our thinking, we devalue the very thing universities have stood for, in some cases for centuries.