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REMAKING COLLEGE: INNOVATION AND THE LIBERAL ARTS CHOPP, R., S. FROST, AND D. H. WEISS. 2014. BALTIMORE: THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS. 212 PP.
Reviewed by Matthew Fifolt
Remaking College is a compilation of essays that explore the current and future role of liberal arts colleges in the United States. This collaborative writing project is an extension of a 2012 conference in which leaders met to discuss issues related to the conference theme: "Tire Future of the Liberal Arts College in America and Its Leadership Role in Education around the World." These essays are the reflections of 20 presidents and other leaders of liberal arts institutions.
The authors contend that "[t]he contemporary residential college is a surprising case study in flexibility, strength, and irrepressibility, all key components of the kind of resiliency that individuals and institutions need in the 21st century" (p. 1). Editors Chopp, Frost, and Weiss note further that the strength of the liberal arts college is in its twofold mission to (1) enhance critical thinking and (2) foster intentional community. The authors contend that as a result of these commitments, students who pursue a liberal arts education develop higher cognitive skills, increased sensitivity to ethical issues, and greater tolerance for ambiguity (p. 3). Despite the challenges that liberal arts colleges now face (e.g;, increased focus on professional training, rising costs), the authors encourage education leaders not only to continue but also to accelerate efforts to innovate and communicate effectively in order to build an education system that is "worthy of the dynamic opportunities ahead" (p. 10).
MAKING THE CASE FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS
Chopp describes the liberal arts college as "an incubator for intellectual agility" (p. 17) where students can pursue their individual passions, live and learn in a vibrant community, and, ultimately, use their knowledge to improve the world. Further, she suggests that the value of the liberal arts education "rests on its long and unique tradition and on what it can offer in a world in which learning to navigate the new may be far more important than the ability to master the old" (p. 17). That is to say, in contrast to the current trend in higher education to focus on job-specific training, liberal arts students gain the skills...