Contentious debates over the benefits—or drawbacks—of a liberal education are as old as America itself. From Benjamin Franklin to the Internet pundits, critics of higher education have attacked its irrelevance and elitism—often calling for more vocational instruction. Thomas Jefferson, by contrast, believed that nurturing a student’s capacity for lifelong learning was useful for science and commerce while also being essential for democracy. In this provocative contribution to the disputes, university president Michael S. Roth focuses on important moments and seminal thinkers in America’s long-running argument over vocational vs. liberal education. Conflicting streams of thought flow through American intellectual history: W. E. B. DuBois’s humanistic principles of pedagogy for newly emancipated slaves developed in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s educational utilitarianism, for example. Jane Addams’s emphasis on the cultivation of empathy and John Dewey’s calls for education as civic engagement were rejected as impractical by those who aimed to train students for particular economic tasks. Roth explores these arguments (and more), considers the state of higher education today, and concludes with a stirring plea for the kind of education that has, since the founding of the nation, cultivated individual freedom, promulgated civic virtue, and instilled hope for the future.

Derek Bok examines the complex ethical and social issues facing modern universities today, and suggests approaches that will allow the academic institution both to serve society and to continue its primary mission of teaching and research.

div Composition research consistently demonstrates that the social context of writing determines the majority of conventions any writer must observe. Still, most universities organize the required first-year composition course as if there were an intuitive set of general writing "skills" usable across academic and work-world settings. In College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for University Writing Instruction, Anne Beaufort reports on a longitudinal study comparing one student’s experience in FYC, in history, in engineering,;

Beyond the Book is the first book dedicated to studies of rare East Asian materials collected by individuals and institutions in North America. It sheds new light on the two centuries of cultural exchanges between East Asia and North America and provides fresh clues for East Asian studies scholars in their hunt for raw research materials.

does researching take place only in the universities? and what about the opportunities opened up by the web? you read it first here! Callender Academic

This book describes a simple, common sense method of how to include professional skills training in any curricula without compromising academic rigor. Examples include how to respond to a demand for innovation and teamwork, a lay-off, a reorganization, or switching jobs and projects.

Our quest for prosperity has produced great output but not always great outcomes. The growing list of concerns includes climate and natural capital, abuse of wealth and market power, economic insecurity, gender bias and disparity, competitive and immoderate consumption, and unhealthful lifestyles. Fundamentally, when it comes to well-being, fairness, and the scope of our humanity, the modern economic system still leaves much to be desired. In turn, trust in business and the liberal market system (a.k.a. "capitalism") has been declining and regulation has been rising. Thankfully, a variety of forces-civic, economic, and intellectual-have been probing for better alternatives. The contributions in this volume, coauthored by eminent philosophers, social scientists, and thoughtful business leaders, are submitted in this spirit. Mutuality, or the exchange of benefits, has been established as the prime principle of action and inter-action in addressing the chronic dilemma of human interdependence. Mutuality is a fundament in the social contract approach and it continues to serve us well. But, to address more robustly the concerns outlined above, we need to conceive a cultural economic system that is anchored on more than mutuality. In particular, we must help evolve an economic paradigm where mutuality is more systematically complemented by reasoned and elective morality. Otherwise the design of the state as protector and buffer between the market and society will remain the central (if inadequate) remedy. The essays in this volume integrate philosophy and social science to outline and explore concrete approaches to these important concerns emanating from business practice and theory.