This paper explores the question of whether society needs a more engaged university. "Engaged," in this context, means committed to serve the public interest, to promote the general welfare. The argument is constructed around three main points: (1) the 20th century university has traditionally sought to serve the public interest; (2) in recent…

This speech, before a Canadian conference on curriculum, instruction, and leadership, discusses the role Canada's public schools and universities will play in making that country internationally competitive, culturally distinctive, and socially humane for the 21st century. By reviewing the environmental and organizational contexts of public…

The issue of leadership is addressed as it applies to Canadian universities and their role in advancing Canada's economic development, international competitiveness, social justice and the quality of life, both at home and abroad. How the university system in Canada has answered this leadership role is detailed through the listing of successes and…

In countries other than Canada, schools are used to accomplish four goals: manpower development (to develop skills needed to implement national policies); cultural survival (to prevent the loss of indigenous culture or language); social priorities (to accomplish social goals); and political purposes (to disseminate propaganda). In Canada, the…

This paper contains the text of a talk on how the business community should cooperate with higher education in Canada through their mutual association, the Corporate-Higher Education Forum. The paper briefly considers the differential impact of size of university in building cooperation with the business community and argues that size has only a…

It is proposed that there are three common misconceptions and criticisms held by the general public concerning Canadian universities: (1) the view that universities are hotbeds of radicalism, alcoholism, and sexism, (2) that there is a decline in the quality of work produced by universities and in their academic standards, and (3) that…

This publication presents the text of a speech on Canadian higher education's response to anticipated science and engineering personnel shortages. The talk opens by reviewing the statistics about current and anticipated labor force needs in sciences and engineering, data on students' study interests, and changes in the demographics of higher…