On September 25th, Lisa Shapiro, Dean of Arts, welcomed Professor Nicholas B. Dirks, former Chancellor of UC Berkeley, to 每日探花鈥檚 Faculty Club to deliver the Maxwell Cummings Lecture in the Humanities.聽聽
Dirks, who currently heads the New York Academy of Sciences, joined the Dean in a conversation surrounding the themes of his latest book, 鈥淭he City of Intellect鈥�, which draws upon his many years of experience in university administrative and presidential circles, reflecting on the solutions for the most pressing issues facing universities today.聽
The discussion touched on a range of topics such as academic freedom; budgeting costs universities are facing globally; the importance of a liberal arts education; as well as the recent discourse surrounding American universities and their autonomy in face of governmental pressures.聽聽
Attendees, among them undergraduate and graduate students, professors and staff, participated in a short Q&A towards the end of the lecture, followed by a reception.聽聽
