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Alexander Heard and the free exchange of ideas
By Evan J. O'Brien
Alexander Heard, the fifth chancellor of Vanderbilt University (1963-1982), passed away on July 24. One of the most enduring parts of his legacy was his decision to support the creation of the Impact Symposium, the guest lecture series still running today. Since the symposium's founding in 1964, Vanderbilt students have invited distinguished guest speakers of all perspectives, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Thatcher, Robert F. Kennedy, and U.S. presidents of both parties. These lectures have fostered free inquiry, lively debate, and students' engagement with issues of intellectual, social, and political importance.
The Impact Symposium is just the kind of forum that we have often praised for broadening students' intellectual horizons. In our recent report on Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas, we encourage universities to set up visiting scholar programs or guest lecture series as a way to "enhance intellectual diversity and re-introduce various scholarly perspectives that are lacking in the university's own academic departments."
Evan J. O'Brien is ACTA's Robert Lewit Fellow in Education Policy and a recent graduate of Harvard University.
Posted by David Azerrad on July 27, 2009 at July 27, 2009 04:15 PM
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