Diary of a Dean

by Herbert I. London

Overview

Diary of a Dean is a memoir of Herbert London's years at New York University. It follows his personal path from professor and ombudsman to dean of a new "experimental" college. The period in question parallels a tumultuous era in higher education. London's experiences placed him in the eye of the academic hurricane.

Although there was considerable debate about the content and nature of higher education in this overheated period, London attempted to maintain a balance between a traditional devotion to the canon of western civilization and emerging technologies and innovations that permit a flexible delivery of education.

Maintaining this balance, as London's words indicate, was not easy. There were pressures from many quarters including, most significantly, the polarization of the faculty. Serving as a dean in an experimental college and, at the same time, remaining devoted to a Matthew Arnoldian view of the curriculum was not something he anticipated as a youthful professor. But for anyone eager to learn about the evolution of higher education in the last few decades, this book is indispensable reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761851714
Publisher:	Hamilton Books
Publication date:	07/08/2010
Pages:	60
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Herbert I. London is president of the Hudson Institute. He is a professor emeritus from New York University, where he also served as founder and dean of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Table of Contents

Preface v

Introduction vii

1 Thinking about America from Down Under 1

2 How a Commencement Changed My Life 7

3 Running to Class 13

4 Underground Notes from a Campus Ombudsman 17

5 What a Dean Learns from His Mother 29

6 What Really Matters 37

7 Letter to a Student 41

8 The Zeitgeist Rings My Home Number 45

9 Challenging the Academic Orthodoxy 51

10 The Tenure Trap 57

11 Academic Freedom and Free Speech 59

12 The Hudson Institute as a University in Absentia 63

Conclusion 67