A central theme of the report is that higher education in America today is not providing students with the kind of high-quality, liberal arts and sciences education they need to succeed in the 21st century.

I was a member of the national panel of educators that developed this study, and working on it gave me an opportunity to see some of the best—and worst—of what is done today in the name of higher education. The experience helped me focus my vision on what can and should be expected from a liberal arts education at a school like Trinity.

I am pleased to say that we are already doing much to be proud of. I am also confident that, as we complete the comprehensive curricular review that was started here by the faculty this spring, we will be able to enhance and refine the handcrafted education that has come to be associated with Trinity College. Together, we can make Trinity a model of excellence in liberal arts and sciences.

The very real crisis in higher education cannot be kept outside the gates, however. Trinity has a role and a responsibility to address the challenges facing higher education in America on a broad scale.

Toward that end, on October 8 from 1 to 4 p.m., Trinity is hosting a Campus-Community Dialogue as part of the Challenge for the Advancement of Liberal Learning (CALL) issued by the AAC&U in conjunction with the Greater Expectations report. The purpose of the campus dialogue is to bring together educators, as well as business and political leaders, directors of nonprofit and community-based organizations, and others to discuss the challenges facing higher education. Similar meetings will be held at different campuses around the country during the 2002-2003 school year.

Everyone is invited to attend this event, which will include a keynote by my friend Carol Schneider who is president of the AAC&U, as well as panels and roundtables intended to stimulate discussion and capture creative ideas that we can apply to the problems that are not just facing colleges and universities, but the entire educational spectrum in America today.