Trachtenberg – Public Intelligence Blog

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

2008 Sequel to 2006 Reflections,August 27, 2011

Dr. Trachtenberg is a very active but post-presidential presence at George Washington University and in global educational circles. I first read Reflections on Higher Education. Completely different from that first book, which was a well-edited compilation of non-replicative speeches and articles, this book follows his departure from the long-held position as President of George Washington University, and provides seventeen chapters. Uses “Inside the Book” feature to see those in detail.

Along with these two books I recommend at a minimum four others I have also reviewed:

The Uses of the University: Fifth Edition (Godkin Lectures on the Essentials of Free Government and the)
Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher Education
The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education (Wiley Desktop Editions)

and also a number of books that have the common theme of reinventing education, such as

Continue reading “Review: Big Man on Campus – A University President Speaks Out on Higher Education”

cover reflections on higher education — Amazon Page

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant Today–Perhaps Still Not Appreciated Today, August 10, 2011

There is nothing in this book that I could disagree with, which instantly marks it as iconoclastic rather than traditional or elitist. This long-serving president spent close to three decades managing two universities, the longest The George Washington University which can legitimately lay claim to being intended by Founding Father George Washington to be a “national” university.

Prior books against which I compare this one include

– The Uses of the University by Clark Kerr
– Universities in the Marketplace by Derek Bok

The book consists of three parts that meld 11 speeches and 2 articles from the 1998-2001 timeframe. This particular book was distributed by the GW Board of Trustees to parents of the incoming GW Class of 2006.

QUOTE (19): “The entire planet is in the process of turning itself into an educational institution, the faculty of which consists of the entire human species.”

QUOTE (21): “The problem boils down to this: How do you get the *universe* of all things into the classroom?”
Continue reading “Review: Reflections on Higher Education”