[422] in magellan
Fwd: Tomorrow's Professor Msg. #205 NINE FUNCTIONS OF A
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Greg Anderson)
Wed Mar 22 11:31:20 2000
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Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 11:31:15 -0500
To: magellan@mit.edu
From: Greg Anderson <ganderso@MIT.EDU>
An interesting view on the functions of higher education and those that
translate well into the digital world and those that don't.
Greg
>From: reis@stanford.edu
>X-Sender: reis@reis.cdr.stanford.edu (Unverified)
>Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 08:44:40 -0800
>To: tomorrows-professor@lists.stanford.edu
>Subject: Tomorrow's Professor Msg. #205 NINE FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY
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>Folks:
>
>The excerpt below is from an article on a recent speech by Stanford
>president, Gerhard Casper. The excerpt discusses the impact of
>information technology in the broader context of the many different
>roles a university plays. The article, by James Robinson, appeared
>in The Stanford Report, Volume XXXII No. 21, March 9, 2000.
>Reprinted with permission.
>
>Regards,
>
>Rick Reis
>reis@stanford.edu
>UP NEXT: Transforming Departments Into Productive Learning Communities
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> Tomorrow's Academy
>
> -------------- 549 words ------------
> NINE FUNCTIONS OF A UNIVERSITY
>
>
>James Robinson
>The Stanford Report
>March 9, 2000
>
>----------
>As he did in a recent Faculty Senate meeting, Casper urged professors not
>to be complacent in the face of emerging technologies. But he discussed the
>impact of information technology in the broader context of the many
>different roles a university plays.
>
>"One can distinguish at least nine tasks that universities perform: (1)
>knowledge assessment and creation; (2) assessing and reviewing those who
>have the capacity to become and be scholars; (3) education and professional
>training; (4) knowledge transfer; (5) credentialing; (6) social
>integration; (7) the collegiate rite of passage to adulthood; (8) providing
>a place for 'networking'; and (9) fostering a worldwide community of
>scholars."
>
>Looking at the university in this way, Casper said, "it is hard to believe
>that all of these functions can and will migrate to cyberspace. Some,
>however, or portions of some, have already done so or will do so in the
>future. There will also be some substitution of distance learning for
>in-residence education.
>
>"We should not only be prepared for this, but we should assume that Stanford
>itself will be a player in cyberspace."
>
>Casper said Stanford is engaged in discussions with Princeton and Yale about
>the growing interest in distance learning and web-based educational programs
>in the arts and sciences, initially focused on continuing education for
>alumni.
>
>"We will, of course, consult widely with faculty members before undertaking
>such collaborative projects," he added.
>
>The university must seize new opportunities, because, he warned, "It is
>possible that commercial providers of online educational services will skim
>off what for them is profitable and will leave the universities with
>everything that is expensive in education and research."
>
>Of course, the Internet and its challenges are partly the result of
>technological innovations born at Stanford. Casper spoke about Stanford's
>role in developing Silicon Valley but also about what sets Stanford apart
>from what the Valley has come to symbolize.
>
>Casper quoted from Michael Lewis' recent book, The New New Thing, which says
>that "the business of creating and foisting new technology upon others that
>goes on in Silicon Valley is near the core of the American experience. . . .
>The United States obviously occupies a strange place
>in the world. It is the capital of innovation, of material prosperity, of a
>certain kind of energy, of certain kinds of freedom, and of transience.
>Silicon Valley is to the United States what the
>United States is to the rest of the world."
>
> From that, Casper said that it would be easy to conclude that "if Silicon
>Valley is to the United States what the United States is to the rest of the
>world, then Stanford is to Silicon Valley what Silicon Valley is to the
>United States."
>
>"To say so would be a facile elaboration but wrong. While Silicon Valley may
>be Stanford's offspring, and therefore it stands to reason that the two
>share some characteristics, the university is not a 'capital of transience.'
>Quite to the contrary, it is our responsibility to be concerned with
>fundamentals, including traditions and basic aspects of the human condition.
>It is our responsibility to take the long view of everything. Yes, we are a
>source of innovation; yes, we ourselves are open to change. Our commitment,
>however, is to the search to know, to the pursuit of truth."
>
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