Does College Really Matter?

In a series of lectures given at Princeton University several years ago, Professor Andrew Delbanco of Columbia University gave a poignant analysis of the purpose of a college education. He set out to distinguish the Anglophone model of the Oxbridge collegiate system from the continental research university system by way of highlighting the spiritual significance of the former. He said this not to imply that the German-style research university is unconcerned with character formation; rather, he meant to explain that the goals of adding to the store of knowledge and cultivating a humane person are not necessarily achievable simultaneously.

Inevitably, the much discussed “publish or perish” trend in colleges and universities has lessened the amount of effort spent on the training of a virtuous citizenry. Even though Dr. Delbanco is decidedly on the left, he expressed the lack of a spiritual and holistic aim that college life possessed previously. The Puritans were wrong on a great deal, but one principle they conveyed through their colonial college training was a sense that man should be both grateful for God’s grace and the ability to use his mind, while also questioning his worthiness of these gifts. It is unnecessary to reiterate the need students at colleges and universities today have for humility.

A truly liberal education cannot fail to humble the student. The great books, poems, and musical masterpieces are sublime because they transcend our mundane pride. What better remedy for a cocky 18 year old than to read Plato and Petrarch, Dante and Dostoevsky. Absent a profound malformation of soul, a man who dips into the profundity of these writers for the first time will invariably diminish his estimation of himself. To know that many a supposedly original thought one has had already exists, cushioned between dusty pages in a library somewhere is not an impetus for inaction. Rather, it is an invitation into the great conversation; a world of fascination and wonder that cannot be matched by the cheap distractions readily available on the college campus. The purpose of college is not to save ones soul. That must be done by an even higher institution. However, the best college experience will aid in the cultivation of a soul, which is more receptive to the divine truths of man’s place in this world.