Vanderbilt University - Commodore Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

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rather than an active participant, in the process. Yet it is known that learning is not a spectator sport, effec- tive learning takes place through diligent labors as a doer of the word, not a hearer only. Finally, the four nouns acquisition',, transmission , preservation and application of knowledge suggest four separate, unrelated, compartmentalized activitiesg namely, that faculty members through research acquire new knowledge, which is then transmitted to students, preserved in libraries, and perhaps applied to the solu- tion of problems in an entirely separate enterprise. While there is a certain element of truth in these claims, it is possible to question the validity of such compartmen- talization and to seek to establish a purpose more coher- ent and unitary in its conceptualization. To move toward remediation of these deficiencies, an alternative statement of purpose is proposed, namely, that universities exist to foster inquiry into the natural, social, and human orders of existence to help ensure and enhance the future of mankind. Here, the emphasis is on process, the process of inquiry. To foster this neces- sarily entails attention to those capacities of the human intellect needed for this activity. It means learning how to learn, and, once this is learned, a foundation for a life-time of learning exists. There is no implication of a dichotomy that faculty members acquire new knowledge through research and that students are the passive recipients of this body of truth, forever and irrevocably valid. Rather, all members of the university are participants in the activity. Profes- sors and students sometimes inquire together into issues of common concern, sometimes they inquire separately, but in any event they are all actors, though presumably with differing responsibilities in the enterprise. The in- quiry may be at the frontier of a field, or may be directed toward analysis of a body of knowledge in the light of new insights, or may seek to understand the application of a body of knowledge to a set of social, technical or human issues. The inquiry may take place in the library, the laboratory, the classroom, the dormitory lounge, a factory, a kibbutz, a prison, or foreign country. It is a dynamic enterprise, with as much satisfaction coming from the chase as from the capture. fkflfflf Yet, if one takes note of the fact of the rapid obsoles- cence of knowledge and of the tendency of society to require expertise and sophistication in areas that do not fit into the traditional disciplines, it is clear that an education based upon the assumptions of the advocates of the body of knowledge theory are not integrally re- lated to the demands placed upon individuals in the forty or fifty years of life following the conferral of the baccalaureate degree. While it is clearly essential that students receiving an education learn the principles of mathematics, understand the dynamics of physics and chemistry, and appreciate the aesthetic products of man's genius, it is at least as important that young people acquire the skills, the attitudes, the habits, the techniques, and the modes of behavior that will help them to continue to learn throughout life despite the absence of a formal setting. They must be equipped to inquire into new areas of knowledge and to adapt and grow even though the substantive knowledge they ac- quired as undergraduates may, by their own middle age, be largely obsolete. In sum, the undergraduate curriculum cannot provide a reservoir of information upon which the individual can draw for the rest of his life. It can be an initial reservoir to serve the more immediate needs of the indi- vidual, but independence of mind and spirit, curiosity and the drive to satisfy it, disciplined modes of thinking, a capacity to discriminate between the important and the unimportant, and the broad perspective derived from an understanding of basic principles, cannot be fueled solely from a mastery of subject matter. SHINE It is clear that a majority of our students, perhaps as many as three quarters, come to Vanderbilt with the rather explicit purpose of preparing themselves for some sort of post baccalaureate study. These students pursue their entire undergraduate program at Vanderbilt with their attention focussed on the way in which their un- dergraduate records are going to be reviewed by admis- sions committees in schools of medicine, law schools, graduate schools of business, and so on. These students as a consequence tend to be relatively unadventurous and to have an overriding concern with their grade point average. A minority of students, perhaps a quarter, on the other hand, see their undergraduate education as an experience in itself rather than as a means to prepare for further study. They expect their undergraduate studies simultaneously to provide personal fulfillment and sufficient knowledge and to prepare themselves for entry into a career. These students are far more heter- genous in their aspirations than the preprofessional students and consequently place many more demands on our curriculum, both in terms of subject matter and methods of instruction. 'From the Assumptions of the College ACADEMIC PLANNING I 11

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A frequently quoted statement on the purposes of a university is that it is an institution for the acquisition, transmission for disseminationj, preservation, and appli- cation of knowledge. That knowledge is the primary commodity with which universities are supposed to deal is undeniably true, but the statement, nevertheless, is deficient in a number of respects. In the first place, the statement fails completely to embrace the notion that universities exist to serve the ends of mankind. While knowledge pursued for its own sake has long provided a powerful impetus to learning, attempts to interpret the meaning of such a motivation do not have to probe very deeply before it is discovered that knowledge for its own sake really means knowl- edge for the sake of humanity. Obviously, the endless search to achieve a comprehension of the natural, social and human worlds refers to a desire to achieve human comprehension. This search for comprehension has es- tablished principles possessed of great power, simplicity and beauty, has expanded the consciousness of man, and has given new meaning to human existence. Surely, knowledge for its own sake means knowledge for pur- poses such as these. Moreover, an emphasis on knowledge as a product or commodity, without due attention to the processes Glen F. Clanton, Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning by which the stated activities of acquisition, transmis- sion, etc., occur, lends a certain sterility and aridity to university activities which are not on the mark. The spirit and zest of an active adventure are altogether missing. In addition, the focus on the product knowl- edge and the body of content, thereof, leads to many organizational and pedagogical problems related to the vast increase of this product, and the specialization, fragmentation and obsolescence flowing therefrom. 'The emphasis on product rather than process is also serious in the sense that the prime actor in the process, namely, the human intellect, is overlooked. Conse- quently, nothing is said about the development of those intellectual qualities which the act of knowing requires. Learning to analyze, to weigh and judge evidence, to suspend judgment, to doubt, to draw conclusions, and to think with clarity, precision, and independence, yet with an understanding of .the limitations, the value, and the consequences of what is known-the importance of all these attributes is missing in the phrases acquisi- tion and transmission of knowledge. The specific words themselves have some interesting connotations. For instance, the phrase transmission of knowledge, to describe the teaching-learning process places the learner in the role of a passive spectator, 'Tian-Q nb 10 I ACADEMIC PLANNING

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liz' 3 ll Q' ,W 1 SOME OBSERVATIONS ON STUDENT LIFE AND THE NORMALCY OF CHANGE by Sidney F. Boutwell Dean for Student Life The sixties were exciting years on most campuses and convulsive ones on some but all campuses experienced not only new levels of activity but new styles of action, as well. At Vanderbilt, student government gained new respect fto the sur- prise of somel as it emerged as the most effective means of student influence and action. Student government proposals, based on careful committee work, resulted in numerous modifications of traditional policies concerning, for example, alcoholic beverages and visitation and closing hours for residence halls. On some other campuses, similar changes were brought about not through the orderly processes of student government but through mass violation of existing campus regulations. Because students adopted new styles of action in the sixties, adminis- trative offices found it necessary to change their manner of dealing with students and visitors to the campus. This new style was based more on rational persuasion than on the simple exercise of authority. It was essential for most students to learn by doing, even if it meant making mistakes. Better to make a mistake, in fact, than to do some- thing simply because you were told to do it in a particular way. It was important for students of the sixties and is important for the I2 I STUDENT LIFE students of the seventies to do things their way. There are, however, some important differences about which one can make some general comments. While some students still employ the styles of the sixties, many have developed other styles. For example, I mentioned earlier that students want to do things their way. To many students of the sixties, this meant doing it differently from the way it had been done traditionally. Today's students often prefer a more traditional way of doing things. Students of the sixties tended to seek advice on that aspect of a matter which most interested them and then they would develop their own game plan , sometimes with a little attention to related factors. Happily, group discussion could and did sometimes lead to the adoption of a more comprehensive game plan which usually led to success. However, those students who pursued a game plan based on a narrow view of a subject often experienced disappointment and frustration. On the other hand, students of the seventies increasingly ask what your game plan would be. They may then reject it, modify it or take it as their own, they are, in short, just as determined to do things in a manner which is palatable to them but they are less anxious to risk making mistakes and therefore seek to profit from the experiences of others. Although I make no attempt to be encyclopedic in my treatment of this subject, there are some other observations I would like to share, space permitting. For example, the American withdrawal from the war in Viet Nam has had a significant impact on the lives of college-age men and women, particularly of the men. Required military service ended at a time unfortunately when the job market became tight and graduate fellowship money began to dry up. Deprived of the period of military service in which to make up their minds about a career, many students found themselves facing graduation without a job. Some subsequently took jobs as waiters or as laborers. Having witnessed the plights of some of their older friends, many students today are voicing concem about jobs and for graduatefprofessional school. They say they don't have time to participate in campus and community activities because they must study more to improve their records. In addition, they increasingly ask about job placement procedures and ask why the University doesn't do more to help them know how to handle themselves in interviews. When students do participate in campus programs, increasingly it is those with a quick pay-off. Many students simply don't want to make what they consider to be long-term commitments to campus organizations and programs. At the same time, one is struck by the fact that business in the Good Woman is at an all time high, as are social registrations in Betty King's office. All of these developments simply mean that once again we are being called upon to adapt to changing priorities. In an effort to add intel- lectual foci to the student's new emphasis on grades, departments, such as philosophy, are being asked to have an association with a particular residence hall. By establishing a regular pattern of seminars, discussion groups, sherry hours, etc., it is hoped that members of that department will make significant contributions to the development of a distinctive character for that particular residence hall. Initial interest is high and if this program catches on next year as we believe it will, then student life will take on a new vibrancy and vitality. This development and others like it lead me to suggest that the campus will not be paralyzed by apathy, as some persons now fear. Rather programs with new appeal must be provided and will be pro- vided because Vanderbilt will endure.