Evento

Lifelong Learning: Universities in Decline Part 2 with Dr. John S. Cowan

Universities in Decline (Part 2): Problems and Solutions A Panel Discussion

A distinguished panel will focus on university problems and solutions outlined on Jan 15th in Part 1 of this series. Dr. John Scott Cowan, the speaker from Part 1 (Jan 15th) will give a short summary of his remarks from the day before, so that attendees who were not present for the session on Jan 15th are brought up to speed, and the panelists will then operate on the issues raised.

Tickets for this lifelong learning lecture are $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. If you are interested in participating in both this lecture and attending the Part 1 class the previous morning, two-event packages are for sale for $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers.

Short synopsis: North American universities have had a rough ride over the past 30 years. The widespread institutional response to the challenges they have been facing has usually involved some dumbing down of most undergraduate programs, steep fee increases, balancing the books by enrollment and class size increases, a systemic failure to understand the underlying purpose of a liberal education, and, more recently, some problems maintaining both academic freedom and free speech. Government in both the USA and Canada has further exacerbated the difficulties by adopting counterproductive methods for targeting public investment in research. While the university world has deployed some minor antidotes to these problems, a case could be made that the sector is in slow but real decline. We will take a hard look at the underlying causes, both within and outside the institutions, and explore some possible remedies.

In addition to Dr. Cowan, the panelists will be:
LGen (Retd) Colby M. Broadwater III, President of the American College of Building Arts
Mr. Armand G. Derfner, lawyer practicing in civil rights, labor, employment and consumer law
Ms. Alissa Collins Lietzow, Executive Director, Charleston Pro Bono, a free legal clinic
Professor Valerie B. Morris, Dean, School of the Arts, College of Charleston