PodcastsGeneral Education
Richard Haass: Education and the Obligations of Citizenship
ACTA president Michael Poliakoff and Higher Ed Now producer Doug Sprei interview Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, an...
WASHINGTON, DC—It’s a different campus and a different chant: Students and scholars at the University of Chicago are in agreement: “Western Civ has got to stay!!”
In a recent referendum, the University of Chicago student body voted overwhelmingly, 1043-481, to encourage the “faculty to reconsider their decision to reduce and eventually delete the Western Civilization sequence from the course offerings of this University.” Nearly a third of the undergraduate college voted on the referendum, more than voted on any other issue on the ballot.
The students’ action comes in tandem with a recent statement by Scholars for the University of Chicago condemning the university’s decision to eliminate the Western Civilization sequence.
“This is a man bites dog story,” said Anne D. Neal, Executive Director of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. “Now it’s students and alumni who are demanding higher standards and a rigorous curriculum while the administration makes excuses for lower standards. Students want a strong education that gives them exposure to the greatest achievements of Western Civilization. This is particularly important at a time when our civilization is under attack.”
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is a nonprofit dedicated to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability.
ACTA president Michael Poliakoff and Higher Ed Now producer Doug Sprei interview Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, an...
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