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October 14, 1986

A Moral Mission for Colleges (1986)

The University
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Correspondence

Exchange with Dr. Plunkett about "A Moral Mission for Colleges" (1986)

Dear Dr. Lamm: You are to be congratulated for your October 14th article on the moral mission of colleges. Your statement of the principles contained in your article was long overdue, and it was as clear and concise a message that I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. As the new Chairman of the Council of Governing Boards in New York State, I was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to reflect on your message and to circulate it to many of my fellow Trustees in the state. We hope to use your article and many of the thoughts contained therein as a foundation for some of the work that we hope to accomplish throughout the state in the years to come.Congratulations and best wishes.Sincerely yours,William F. Plunkett, Jr. WFP/td17 Elk StreetP.O. Box 7149Albany, NY 12224518/436
The University General Education

Correspondence

Exchange with Professor Bartholomew about "A Moral Mission for Colleges" (2002)

Dear Dr. Lamm, Thank you inviting me to today’s luncheon with Lee Schulman. Not only did the lunch stimulate the tip of the tongue, but the discussion stimulated that back part of the mind wherein course pedagogies are engineered—strike that—are designed. We do need to remind ourselves of the forcible effect we may have on our students’ lives, and especially so during inconstant times such as we see today. I recall your letter to the Times. My interest was keen because I was then deciding whether to join the YU faculty, or perhaps it was that I had recently joined the faculty, and I was curious about you and your positions. I remember thinking that those who attacked you in follow-up letters were really attacking positions advocated by Allan Bloom (in his best-selling book that was released about then) and that most of your naysayers missed the nuance of significant differences (I thought) between your use of “values” and his. His use was more political and yours was more ethical and moral. Then again, life has been trying to teach me not to be overly immodest about the accuracy of my long term memory—as for the short term…what was the subject? (I call this condition “Halfzeimers.” Not yet the whole thing!) With best regards, Noyes Bartholomew
The University

Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Loebl about "A Moral Mission for Colleges" (1986)

Dear Professor Loebl, I am grateful to you for your warm and generous comments in your letter of October 15. I quite agree with your addendum to the thoughts I expressed in my article – the social sciences are indeed dominated by “natural science envy” in their attempt to act as if they were value-neutral, and your critique is quite trenchant. I very much enjoyed reading your article on “Moral Values and U.S. Policy” in the Spring 1986 edition of Strategic Review. I thank you again for your comments and wish you a very happy and healthful New Year. NL
The University General Education