“The paramount obligation of a college is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously and hopefully.” –Ellen Browning Scripps

I recently ran across this original mission statement for Scripps College in an article by William Deresiewicz discussing the goals of colleges today. Mr. Deresiewicz is lamenting a shift from the focus of knowledge for knowledge sake–the preparation for individuals to lead fuller lives as participants in their societies, to that of solely seeking economic worth, defined by a paycheck. In what he calls neoliberalism, literature, the arts, philosophy, and other liberal-art disciplines are viewed increasingly inferior to that of commercial ones; computer sciences, economics, entrepeneurship, technology.

The mission statement for Scripps College is now: leadership, service, integrity, creativity. It is not seemingly a bad change, but rather vague, impersonal, and ironically the word “thinking” has been excised. The societies’ pendulums swing and will swing again.

But I hope we do not forget the importance of independence, confidence, courage, hope, and the love of learning and thinking, whether we are students or not.