Introduction

Liberal education has always had its full share of theorists, believers, and detractors, both inside and outside the academy. The best of these have been responsible for the evolutionary development of the concept of liberal education, for its changing tradition, and for the resultant adaptation of educational institutions to serve the needs of society. This book is the result of a meeting, primarily of believers, held at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in April 1994. The reason for calling it was not simply to consider the unpleasant omens for liberal education that have been appearing as the end of a millennium is reached. A pessimist would include among them the end of the long period of economic growth for colleges, the decline of public support, the discovery that financial aid for tuition can be an Achilles' heel in times of rising costs, and the increasingly uncritical dependence of the public on the mass media and information technology, as well as a host of other external pressures and internal confusions. The meeting was called primarily to inspire further reflection on how liberal education can best continue to serve the healthy functioning of democratic society despite these apparent obstacles, for this concept still deserves a central pedestal in the educational pantheon. Presidents and chief academic officers of eighty liberal arts undergraduate institutions participated in the meeting, along with a dozen scholars and a few leaders of educational associations. Nine of the presentations from the symposium are included in this volume, accompanied by a statement prepared by all of the participants representing their general agreement about liberal education. The four-day symposium was sponsored by the Educational Leadership Program of the Christian A. Johnson Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies. The Educational Leadership Program conducts research and seminars for college and school administrators. The American Council of Learned Societies supports scholarly research in the humanities.