The strengths of the academic enterprise (EWD1175)

Abstract

In the Western world, 66 institutions have enjoyed a continuously visible identity since 1530. Among those 66 are the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and the Parliaments of Iceland and the Isle of Man. What makes these 66 so interesting—and I owe the knowledge of this fact to our President Dr. Berdahl—is that the remaining 62 are all universities! It strikingly demonstrates that universities have a potential for “longevity”, but we should not make the mistake of concluding that they are “immortal” or invulnerable, for they are not: if they have existed for centuries, that is because successive generations of scholars and students have nurtured them well and with devotion. It is the obvious task of the current generation to hand over to the next what it got from the previous one, and in order to do so well, we had better understand how the strengths of the academic enterprise are maintained most effectively. Hence my title.