Gnōthi seauton—know thyself!—was the maxim at Delphi that Socrates famously adopted. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) commends Yale University for its willingness to take a hard look in the mirror with its newly released Report of the Committee on Trust in Higher Education. While so many others avoid taking any responsibility for the decline of American higher education, Yale has acknowledged the need to make changes in the face of the American people’s deep dissatisfaction with our colleges and universities: “Those of us in higher education have too often resisted calls to critically examine our own institutions, professions, and modes of thought,” the Report states. “We must be willing to admit where we have been wrong and where we might improve, even as we defend what is essential about higher education and its academic mission.” This admission alone is a sign of wisdom.
So is the Report’s acknowledgement of Yale’s mission drift:
In 2016, departing from its traditional emphasis on the creation and dissemination of knowledge, Yale expanded its mission statement to include “improving the world today,” educating “aspiring leaders worldwide,” and fostering “an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” These are all worthy goals. But they are not what makes a university a university.
We recommend that Yale adopt a focused university-wide mission statement such as the one currently articulated in its own Faculty Handbook: “Yale University’s mission is to create, disseminate, and preserve knowledge through research and teaching.”
Steering Yale’s course back to its core academic mission is an act of courage in American higher education today.