University of Louisville - Thoroughbred Yearbook (Louisville, KY)

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Inaugural Response—Continued. same goals as instruction. If instruction then, is the most important activity of our University, it is of first importance that we note some of the factors that determine its qualities. The institution’s representative in this activity is the teacher; the activity from the standpoint of the institution is teaching. Today, American higher education is experiencing the heretofore unknown exhilaration of a critical attitude directed toward the quality of its teaching. It is one which for years has been operative on educa- tional level below the college and it now strikes higher education with all the added impetus derived from success in other fields. One can safely make three assertions concerning this movement. The first is that it is clearly upon us. The second is that it is here to stay for an indefinite time. The third is that it is thoroughly sound in principle. With these considerations in mind, it would seem that from now on academic tenure, important as it is, will be compelled to share its field with the quality of the teaching perform- ance. ‘This is a statement based upon a rapidly accumulating body of evidence which time does not permit us to detail here. It is scarcely necessary in light of what has been said, to call atten- tion to the great importance of securing properly qualified persons for the faculty. In general, we get what we pay for, although it must be said that many serve the teaching profession at a distinct personal sacrifice because they prefer the life of this profession to that of any other occupation. As the years go by, the University of Louisville will undoubtedly find it necessary to pay its faculty members amounts in excess of what they are now receiving. The emphasis here laid upon the importance of proper instruction, finds strong argument in certain contemporary conditions abroad. German universities have recently had a vision. Previous to the war the diligence of their exacting research had become so narrow that it blinded perspective, and dried up the streams of student en- thusiasm. But a new day is dawning, there is a new spirit, and understanding is coming between instructors and students. Soon we may expect the German universites to be what they were in the beginning and in the middle of the last century—centers and crown- ing achievements of German civilization. See Fritz Kellerman, the Effect of the World War on Eurspean Education, page 51, et seq. (Harvard Bulletins in Education, Number XII). of louisville | Fourteen

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Inaugural Response—Continued. of the youth and adults of this city, and to draw up and make effec- tive, articulate programs to meet those needs. Public education can no longer rightfully think of itself as limited to children and youth or to non-employed. It should include as an integral part educa- tion for workers. Education for adults has become of vital impor- tance. I heartily endorse the idea put forth by Superintendent Gregory this afternoon that there should be one instead of two public educational programs for the city, and that the city school system and the city University “can wisely work together in the construction of a program of education that shall be city wide,” that eventually will recognize no academic boundaries of subjcet matter, and will serve people of all age levels. The current conception of a University seems to be less comprehen- sive in some fundamental respects than what it was in the minds of some American leaders considerably more than a century ago. Spe- cifically it falls short of that suggested by Thomas Jefferson in a letter written by him to Joseph Priestly in January, 1800. He said, “We wish to establish for the state, a university so broad and liberal and modern as to be a temptation to you... the first stepis. . . a judicious selection of the sources ... in an institution meant chiefly for use.’ . . . it includes the sciences, politics, commerce, arts, and fine arts. Ford, Paul L. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, P. 407, et seq. Instruction Primary Function We do not believe that the view we have expressed is in any sense a miscarriage of the basic reason why this institution was first char- tered. That purpose was primarily to provide instruction. This is a fact so important that it should never be lost sight of. Buildings, libraries, laboratories, teachers, and boards of trustees are necessary. But necessary for what? Memberships on boards or positions on faculties should be neither created nor continued to provide positions for occupants. Buildings, including laboratories and libraries, are not erected to provide employment or even to beautify the landscape. All of these factors are for the purpose of making instruction possible, and for the purpose of improving it. Even academic research, which by some is considered to be the high- est type of intellectual activity, can scarcely justify itself in a pub- licly supported university, unless it contributes significantly to the Thirteen

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Inaugural Response—Continued. University and Community Idealism In the address which he gave last evening, President McVey defined the functions of a University to be: 1. Teaching, 2. Research, 3. Publication. I heartily endorse this statement. In doing so I trust that no in- justice will be done in laying stress upon the spiritual leadership which an institution of higher education owes to its constituency. It is necessary that such an institution have material support. To receive an adequate amount of such support it must make an appeal which will bring the proper response. Community service of the kind pointed out earlier will help greatly to this end. But after all, these are only means to an end—an end far more important than anything material or merely educational. Permission has graciously been granted me to quote from a letter written by one in whom Louisville takes just pride—from a letter written by Mr. Justice Brandeis to his late brother Alfred. ‘‘Money alone cannot build a worthy university. To become great a uni- versity must express the people whom it serves, and must express the people and the community at their best. The aim must be high and the vision broad; the goal seemingly attainable, but beyond the ° ° 9 immediate reach.”’ Extract from a letter written by Mr. Justice Brandeis to his brother, Mr. Alfred, under date of February 18, 1925 This cogently expresses what I have tried to say. It also suggests what I personally believe, that the kind of a university that we should have will not come by imposition from without. It must grow from within out. It must as the Justice says, “express the people and the community.” Mr. John Dewey says of Theodore Roosevelt that he was America’s “living embodiment rather than its representative.’ He was the gauge of the aspirations of the people of his own day. In him “‘the people recognized and greeted the collective composition of their own voices.’’ See John Dewey—Characters and Events, p. 87. Onl ly by the operation of a similar principle can a great public insti- tution be made. Only by appealing to the best in ambition and in spiritual desire will this university reach its goal. It can be no bet- ter than you, its patrons, wish it to be. But all that you hope for your sons and your daughters, the best that you think the future can bring to your community, all this your university can and will be if you really desire it for yourselves and your posterity. “To your noblest vision of what it should become, I here pledge my undivided service.