A Conference on College: Who Goes? Who Pays? And What Should Students Learn?

The controversy over early admissions is only the most visible of the debates about undergraduate education in the United States. This conference offers different perspectives on the changing composition of the student body, access and equity, curricular reform, and preparation for citizenship in the twenty-first century.

Keynote Speakers:
Nancy Cantor, President, Syracuse University
Anthony Marx, President, Amherst College

Admission is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please register before April 6th by contacting educationconference@columbia.edu with your name, affiliation, and email address.

Sponsored by the American Studies Program.

Conference Schedule

8:15  Doors Open. Coffee and light breakfast

8:45  WELCOME: Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University

9:00  INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Andrew Delbanco, Director, American Studies

9:15-11:15 PANEL I:  WHO WILL THE STUDENTS BE?

Chair Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, Charles Warren Professor of the History of American Education, Harvard University

Christopher Avery, Roy F. Larsen Professor of Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University: “Equity and Access: An Overview”

Thomas Bailey, George and Abby O’Neil Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University: “Meeting a Critical Need: America’s Community Colleges”

Lloyd Thacker, Founder, The Education Conservancy:  “College
Admissions: Out of Alignment?”

Mary Marcy, Vice President and Provost, Simon’s Rock College of Bard: “The Early College High School Movement”

Damian Ramsey, Brown University Class of ’07: “A Student’s Perspective”

Roosevelt Montás, Lecturer, Core Curriculum and American Studies, Columbia University: “College as Self-Discovery”

11:15-11:30         Coffee break

11:35    INTRODUCTION OF KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Austin Quigley, Dean of Columbia College

11:45-1:00  Keynote Speakers

Nancy Cantor, President and Chancellor, Syracuse University:
“Undergraduate Education: From Consumers to Citizens in a Knowledge Economy”

Anthony Marx, President, Amherst College: “Access to Whom? Access to What?”

1:00-2:00  Lunch (on your own)

2:15-4:15  PANEL II: WHAT SHOULD STUDENTS LEARN?

Chair, Casey Blake, Professor, History and American Studies, Columbia University

Darcy Kelley, Professor, Biological Sciences, Columbia University: “The Challenge of Science Education”

Samuel Roberts, Assistant Professor, History and Public Health, Columbia University: “Science and History: Teaching about Race”

John Strassburger, President, Ursinus College: “The Place of the Classics in the 21st Century Curriculum”

Carol Geary Schneider, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities: “The Value of Liberal Education”

Pauline Yu, President, American Council of Learned Societies:
“Globalization: Challenge and Opportunity”

Michael Zuckerman, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania:
“Service and Civic Engagement in the Curriculum”

4:15  CONCLUDING REMARKS:  Andrew Delbanco

Reception to follow.