Key Notes
Academic development and public leadership: a tale of three cities
Ronald Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education at University College London Institute of Education
The story of the university over its past 900+ years could be said to be a tale of two cities, the cities of academe and of work. Can a third city be espied that might offer both the cities of academe and work their due place, as thriving suburbs and yet contributing to a much great whole? Yes: a third city of the public can be glimpsed, where the city of academe would have a new role to play, in promoting public reason (as a public good). Academics would lead within their pedagogic and research roles and promote public reasoning among their students and as public intellectuals. The foundations would be laid among students, as critical-creative thinkers, who, as we see today, so many younger students are already assuming right across the world.
Introduced by Tomas Englund, Örebro Univeristy
Comments by Thomas de Lange, UiO
Relationship-rich education, deliberative academic development, and public good after 2020
Peter Felten, Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, Assistant Provost, and Professor of History, Elon University
The multiple crises of 2020 – the pandemic, racial violence, political polarization, climate change, and more – have starkly illustrated Danielle Allen’s claim that “trustful talk among strangers” is essential to create a shared sense of public good (2004, xiii). To cultivate the habits and capacities necessary for such trustful talk in our institutions and communities, higher education must commit to deliberative forms of pedagogy and leadership. In my remarks, I will connect themes from Leading Higher Education As and For Public Good with the results of a new U.S. study that explores how relationship-rich educational practices influence student learning and lives at and after university. Taken together, these raise fundamental questions about the purposes and practices of academic development in a dynamic and polarized world.
Introduced by Molly Sutphen, UiO
Comments by Katarina Mårtensson, Lund University