Internationalization activities of academic institutions are forms of Education Diplomacy, advancing the intrinsic role of education for peace and security, development, and human rights. When universities recognize their role as key stakeholders in solving global challenges, strong partnerships with international organizations such as the United…

Civic engagement is increasingly recognized as a significant function of public universities. The university provides a variety of opportunities for civic engagement, including co-curricular activities, service learning opportunities, and specific majors and minors. This article reviews the attempt to embed civic engagement and civic education…

While a liberal education is a preface to lifelong learning, it should be concerned with developing certain skills and knowledge. Specific goals of a core curriculum at Harvard are endorsed. Results of the relaxation of academic requirements and future roles of higher education are discussed. (SW)

General education is the process of developing a framework on which to place knowledge stemming from a variety of sources. Its goals are to help students think critically, develop values, understand traditions, respect diverse cultures and opinions, and, most importantly, put that knowledge to use. Even though its goals parallel socially supported…

The case is presented for uniformity in academic programs of pharmacy, based on the need for mastery of a common core of knowledge and practice skills to provide a consistent level of practice competence and a basis for communication among practitioners. (Author/MSE)

The welfare of U.S. society and the resilience of its culture and economy depend on people whose intellect, values, and perspective transcend the requirements of the moment. There are many good vocational and professional schools, but no other institutes can prepare future leaders as effectively as the liberal arts college. (Author/MSE)

The case for diversity focuses on the need for and trend toward specialization. Most pharmacists are currently employed by corporations or health care institutions, not in independent practice. Sources of pressure in curriculum planning are examined. (MSE)

The current debate about the core curriculum is seen as focusing on "means" rather than the "ends" of general education. Unless the aims of education are debated and some consensus is achieved, it is thought the quality of undergraduate education is not likely to improve. (Author/MLW)

Discusses Allan Bloom's "The Closing of the American Mind" and its implications for higher education. Examines Bloom's analysis of historical changes that involved universities in societal pressures, thereby weakening them. Supports Bloom's mandate that universities delineate their function and measure achievement against the fundamental…

Among other things, a general education is the habit of questioning. It transcends the more narrow limitations of a specific discipline. A core curriculum needs to be prescribed that consists of a variety of special interdisciplinary courses or ones especially organized around unifying interdisciplinary problems. (SW)

Recent criticism of the college curriculum stops short of recommending one thing that should be central: a core curriculum that speaks to the forces of culture and tradition, providing an intellectual context for all other studies. (MSE)

The future demands a renewal of community and a curriculum that will counteract the excesses of individualism and broaden social visions, suggest these authors. This article is adapted from a forthcoming book and emphasizes the need for a curriculum that deals with the American heritage and the university's role in it. (Editor/LBH)

Citing a severe decline in academic standards due to political and social influences, a group of conservative scholars criticizes the "radicalization" of the college curriculum and danger to academic freedom. (MSE)

Harvard's recommendation of a core curriculum is examined and related to the general status of American higher education. It is suggested that the Harvard curriculum offers insight into the crisis faced by academe, and that the so-called reforms reveal failures of imagination and will and offer too little too late. They fail to examine the…

A tendency in liberal arts to organize the disciplines into a common, core curriculum and to evangelize this common learning in a puritanical way is examined and criticized. It is recommended that the liberal education mission must not be imposed on those who do not seek it. (MSE)