A Passionate Case for Liberal Education
Former Dartmouth and University of Iowa President James O. Freedman provides an intelligent guide for administrators in Liberal Education and the Public Interest.
In 1996 James O. Freedman published Idealism and Liberal Education, which discussed the ideals that shaped his life as an intellectual, a law professor, and a college and university president. In Liberal Education and the Public Interest he convincingly explores his firm belief that a liberal education is the “surest instrument yet devised for developing those civilizing qualities of mind and character that enable men and women to lead satisfying lives and to make significant contributions to a democratic society.”
Freedman concentrates directly upon the problems facing university presidents and all university administrators. A passionate and beautifully written argument for the benefits of a liberal education, Liberal Education and the Public Interest is also a practical guide for those administrators struggling with such threatened institutions as tenure and affirmative action; it enables them to make an effective public case for the value of a liberal education.
Freedman speaks out clearly, lyrically, and sometimes bluntly; throughout, in an important and timely fashion, he makes us aware of the many ways in which a liberal education nurtures independent perspectives and strengthens democratic values.
James O. Freedman is president emeritus of the University of Iowa and Dartmouth College, past president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the author of Crisis and Legitimacy: The Administrative Process and American Government and Idealism and Liberal Education.#
