‘The reification of student happiness’

The headline phrase is excerpted from today’s keynote speech at the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy conference, “Building Excellence into American Higher Education.” 

Speaker Harry Lewis is a former Harvard College dean who’s written the book, Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education. 

Lewis highlighted several problems in present-day colleges and universities, including an unwarranted focus on ensuring student happiness.

• In this clip, he highlights two recent events that demonstrate how academics have failed their students. (One example should be especially familiar to a North Carolina audience.)

Look for access in the coming days to each speech and panel discussion from the Pope Center conference.