Liberal Education for a Land of Colleges

Yale's Reports, published in 1828, is a seminalpublication for understanding the development of American higher education. Giving highest priority to critical thinking skills, this fifty-six-page pamphlet played a central role in clearly delineating teaching objectives, modes of learning, and range of curriculum for the nation s colleges. In a deeply researched and well-crafted analytical narrative, David B. Potts introduces Yale s document, probes its origins and message, surveys its national reception, and assesses its import for liberal education, both then and now. His broadly contextual approach helps readers understand why the young republic, informed and encouraged by Yale s rationale, became a land of liberal arts colleges.

“Potts’s excellent book presents a balanced and incisive analysis while contributing new contextual research drawing upon years of work in archives around the country. His learned volume is therefore a most welcome and able contribution both to the historiography and to the current discussion of undergraduate education.” (Bruce Kimball, Professor of Education, Ohio State University, USA)

“This book is essential for understanding the early national system of collegiate education in the United States.Potts, one of a very small number of the leading historians of higher education, has here pulled together an indispensable sourcebook on Yale's Reports of 1828, perhaps the most influential document of the era. Everyone seriously interested in the origins of American colleges will want this book for his library.” (Stanley N. Katz, Director, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University)

“With this marvelous work of historical scholarship, Potts makes Yale's Reports of 1828 accessible not only by the act of reprinting but also by undertaking the scholarly work of placing this document into context and rightly insisting upon its continuing relevance to liberal learning, which we now reference as critical thinking.Too often caricatured, the Yale document is foundational for the liberal arts tradition in the United States. It ranks in importance with Charles W. Eliot's "Inaugural Address" (1869) as president of Harvard and Harvard's postwar faculty report, General Education in a Free Society (1945). Together, these documents are fundamental for any consideration of the future of liberal education.” (Thomas Bender, University Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History, New York University)

“With rich detail Potts sets in context an educational landmark often cited but all too shallowly understood. His insightful interpretation should find admirers in the broadest reaches of social and intellectual history.” (Hugh Hawkins, Anson D. Morse Professor of History and American Studies, emeritus, Amherst College)

“With its superb introductory essay, this book will be an indispensable acquisition for any library that holds materials on the history of American education. It will also be indispensable for any collection that is concerned with liberal or general education.” (Jurgen Herbst, Professor of History and Educational Policy Studies emeritus, University of Wisconsin)

“David Potts's learned volume is a most welcome and able contribution both to the historiography and to the current discussion of undergraduate education.” (Bruce Kimball, Professor of Education at Ohio State University)

David B. Potts is a historian of American colleges and universities and has served liberal arts education in a variety of roles: professor of American history, scholar-in-residence, academic dean, alumnus, and trustee.