THE UNIVERSITY AND THE STATE

...And again, "The rise of these great universities is the most epoch-making feature of our American civilization, and they are to become more and more the leaders, and the makers of our civilization...

...but this is no more true of politics and religion than it is of agriculture...

...this is not my phrase, but I shall be proud of the University of Wisconsin, just in proportion as it becomes the soul of the state...

...The University and the State Commencement Address at The University of Wisconsin, June 22, 1910 By PRESIDENT CHARLES RICHARD VAN HISE THE strength of the state university lies in its close relations to the state...

...The attitude of the professor in reference to every subject should be that of a candid judjre, not that of an advocate, but an absolutely free ;tnd fearless judge who feels heavily the responsibility of his position of trust...

...Every school and college is a part of that soul, and it should be the aim of each to be as large a part as possible...

...and always without bias...

...such is the cost of progress...

...It is the duty of the staff of the state university to be at the service of the state along all lines in which their expert knowledge will be helpful...

...that it should let the battle be fought out by others without any attempt at leadership...

...and President Pritchett of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, in his last report mentions the fact that recently the universities of Oklahoma and Florida have had revolutions due to political changes...

...The human race is ever moving upward and onward...

...This is alike true of the labor-saving machine and of the forward intellectual or spiritual step...

...They are of the people...

...A number of such universities have suffered from politics in their early history...

...Says President Pritchett in a recent article in the Atlantic, speaking of the state university: "Those who direct the purpose of these great enterprises of the democracy cannot be too often reminded that the highest function of a university is to furnish standards for a democracy...

...they are the times to set every sail from the main course to the sky sails so that all may draw...

...A sentiment may be developed or a situation may arise in a state such that the professor feels he is not free to teach the truth as he sees it...

...At times of unrest when new and important issues are arising, when old convictions are being questioned, is a time when the men of learning who know history, who should know the facts broadly, and who have no purpose but the greatest good of the greatest number, should be absolutely free...

...In order that the suffering and pain of advance shall be reduced to a minimum...

...Shall the people demand of their university that it provide for their material needs and neglect the people themselves,—their intellectual, artistic, moral, and spiritual development...

...but also the people should appreciate that all material gains are for men and women...

...These are that the university may be politically controlled, and that it may be hampered in its work...

...Investigation Should not be Restri-ted FOR my own part I have no doubt that in all the states in which the state universities are strongly established the overwhelming majority of the people are in favor of absolute freedom of teaching and investigation...

...The conservatives have sometimes been disturbed because questions have arisen which in the past have been regarded as settled...

...in order that the benefactions of the advance shall be a maximum and far outweigh the cost, it is encumbent that the universities play their part in leadership...

...No part of the domain of human experience, knowledge, or ideas can be set off as forbidden ground...

...Why do we wish to produce more wheat and cotton...

...The facts concerning any subject should be broadly dealt with...

...The capacity of a state university to make the man himself, as a subject of study and advancement, maintain a paramount position will be the crucial test of the...

...The remaining danger of the close association of the state with the university is the possibility of interference with the freedom of teaching and investigation...

...With reference to such questions it has sometimes been said that the university should keep off...

...Tthe saiversfty authorities must insist that man shall not beSET EVERY SAIL...

...Times of umest and change are not the times for the university to trim...

...The old ideas and ideals will be modified...

...It is by the free is contest of ideas and ideals, often widely diverging, the ress is . It is Self-evident that no man or group that to assume that they have a mosafly on iversity, above mest groups of ty of the facts, the impossid so without fear and withprofound nility, present their ideas to the world to be accepted if found good and to be rejected if fcund inadequate...

...In order that human beings may be fed and clothed...

...If at such times those who should be leaders do not throw their intellect and influence in the right direction, there is danger that demagoguery and passion may lead in wrong directions with resulting disaster...

...the university feels a peculiar obligation to the state in which it is situated...

...The state university should not be a follower, but a leader, and in all fields...

...Every institution which works for the upbuilding of humanity, be it church or prison, is a part of the soul of the state...

...that it should take no part in their consideration...

...No institution which does not handle the humanities in all their amplifications under the same principles that it handles the pure and applied sciences is worthy of the name of a university...

...But, "The life is more than meat and the body is more than raiment...

...The slate demands- of it service...

...If the state gives freedom of teaching and investigation to the university staff, also the people of the state should be free to accept or reject as their judgment may dictate...

...it has equally the right to demand expert service in politics and sociology...

...At the recent inauguration of President Lawrence Lowell, among the many high notes sounded, one clearly stood out above all others...

...first, jt may be demanded that the teaching which looks toward material ends shall be strong, while the humanities are allowed to remain weak or not properly developed, and second, freedom of teaching and investigation may be interfered with...

...Said James Bryce: "The university should reflect the spirit of the times without yielding to it...

...These demands are right and should be fully met by the university...

...they are the times to set every sail from the main course to the sky sails so that all may draw...

...The progress of the nation and the state will continue...

...It is because of the present general unrest that I again formulate the principles in reference t» a free university, well established for a hundred years, lest by any deviation from that at this critical time the University of Wisconsin shall fail to do its full duty to the state and to the nation...

...These relations between the university and the state bind them closely together...

...In making this statement I do not mean to imply that the state university should dogmatize...

...Every man of high ideals is a part of that soul...

...Times of unrest and change are not the times for the university to trim...

...The state has a right to demand of the university expert service in valuing a public utility...

...It is natural, indeed inevitable, that the people shall demand that effective teaching, research, and extension of knowledge shall be done in agriculture, in engineering, and in other lines from which a financial return may be shown from the investment...

...The Soul of the State" ''IT has been said that the university should be the soul of the state...

...At the present time there is no serious danger of political control in any of the older and stronger state universities...

...If the people will support a state university in which these idea...

...When a state university has gained solid ground, it means that the people of a whole state have turned their faces toward the light, it means that the whole system of state schools has been welded into an effective agent for civilization...

...In taking part in the work of advancement <f the state, the staff of the university should be free from intellectual arrogance and devoid of any attempt to force their ideas upon the people...

...it is its duty to advance knowledge, and especially those lines of knowledge which concern the development of the state...

...The state has a right to demand of the university expert service in Valuing a public utility...

...Such a position would be intolerable...

...Danger in Political Control TO THE first of those dangers the state university is especially exposed in its youth...

...none should be hidden...

...But associated with these close relations, which arc the strength of the state university, aie also its most serious dangers...

...If at a time of ttress the university furls its sails the people will lose confidence in the institution that remains supinely in the harbor when the state is confronted with vital questions in reference to which assistance should be given...

...That is to say, the university must truly serve present needs, but also it should stand above them and lead to higher ideals...

...and to quote a phrase, he may feel that he must shade the truth somewhat...

...It speaks well for the democracy of this country that as the states have developed the danger of political interference in university government has steadily become less...

...The professor should consider the problem before him in the light of pure reason with no thought but to find the truth, wholly uninfluenced by popular sentiment or passion...

...The university, the culmination of the educational system of the state, would be a miserable institution indeed if it could not justly claim to be a large segment of the soul of the state...

...Interference With Academic Freedom THE other danger of the close association of the university with the state,—interference with its work—has two aspects...

...This position the university authorities and its friends must firmly resist...

...University Must not Shirk Leadership THE unrest which has characterized the first decade of this twentieth century has led to many new proposals in all fields...

...Times of unrest, of changing ideas and ideals, are above all the times when the university should be mast effective in the guidance of public opinion...

...come subordinate to material gain, which is for him...

...but such movement always involves vexation, strife, dissension, often pain on the part of those who are disturbed in their convictions...

...From these disasters it will be many years before they recover...

...But a university must insist that the whole domain of physical and human phenomena belong within its scope,—pure science, applied science, politics, morals, religion, are proper fields of study for a university...

...Shall the university be free to teach that a certain practice in agriculture is wrong and advocate a new and improved practice, and the same principle not apply in politics and in morals...

...it is their duty to assist in carrying knowledge to the people...

...In no field should the method of the university be that of dogmatic teaching...

...No advance has ever been made without suffering...

...But frequently the deep-seated dominant sentiment does not express itself, and there are always some who would place limitations upon the field of a university...

...The state owns the university...

...If at a time of stress the university furls its sails the people will lose confidence in the institution that remains supinely in the harbor when the state is confronted with vital questions in refe ence to which assistance should be given...

...and every citizen feels himself to be a stockholder in that ownership...

...it has equally the right to demand expert service in politics and sociology...

...The growth of the university is dependent upon the state...

...obtain, then can it be truly said that a democracy is a success...

...It is the duty of the state university to instruct young men and women...

...The former is probably the more imminent danger for the majority of institutions...

...If such interference occurs, it is likely to be indirect rather than direct, and is therefore all the more insidious...

...their bearings should be considered with reference to the principles which flow from them...