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A Liberal Arts College, If You Can Keep It
On March 31, 2011, after many months of negotiation, Yale University reached an agreement with the National University of Singapore to create a residential liberal arts college in Singapore. Yale President Richard Levin hopes that this college will "re-imagine liberal education for a new century" and serve as a model for Asia. As proposed, the new campus will bring to Singapore the signature features of the American undergraduate experience: an emphasis on general education, student residential life that encourages discussion and exchange of ideas, extracurricular activities that build leadership and teamwork skills, and vigorous small class discussions. Yale is taking a bold step, with great potential - and also significant challenges. Neither the American focus on general education nor the American ethos of academic freedom is part of Singapore's system of higher education. Yale is confident that its Singapore partner understands what the freedom to teach and conduct research without interference means. The acid test may come when academic freedom collides with Singapore's strict laws on sedition, and much remains to be seen. Regarding curriculum, the American system of liberal arts education has been a key part of economic progress and vigorous citizenship since the time of our Founders. There are few contributions to the new Asia that Yale could make that would be more important for freedom and progress. But there is no room for smugness. ACTA hopes that Yale will not miss the opportunity to build a stronger model of general education than that now seen on its own campus. Yale earned an "F" in ACTA's WhatWillTheyLearn? ratings: of seven essential subjects for a strong and coherent general education, Yale requires only one, intermediate level foreign language. Yale has the opportunity - and the imperative - truly to reinvent its general education curriculum and ensure that it provides the intellectual foundation of skills and knowledge for the 21st century, whether in Asia or America.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on April 01, 2011 at April 1, 2011 04:54 PM
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