The Mission and Mystery of the University: Degrees of Value Roundtable

"Degrees of Value: Past, Present, and Future"
A Conversation with Retired Texas Tech Faculty

This academic year, the Humanities Center has chosen “The Mission and Mystery of the University” as its annual programming theme.  Over the course of the year we will consider the role of the university in society from multiple perspectives.  This special event invites the expert commentary of four of our distinguished retired faculty members, Prof. Charlotte Dunham (Sociology), Prof. Ed George (Classics), Prof. Danny Nathan (Philosophy), and Prof. Robert Ricketts (Accounting).  All four of these scholars have enjoyed sterling academic careers and served the university in a variety of administrative roles.  Indeed, this group of faculty has both witnessed and guided massive transformations at Texas Tech and are uniquely situated to share their experience as we build the future of the institution.   

The basic question before the panel is, “What good does Texas Tech do?”  Like most universities, we have a mission statement in answer to that question; Texas Tech’s reads as follows:

As a public research university, Texas Tech advances knowledge through innovative and creative teaching, research and scholarship. The university is dedicated to student success by preparing learners to be ethical leaders for a diverse and globally competitive workforce. The university is committed to enhancing the cultural and economic development of the state, nation and world.

To boil it down to its most important elements, Texas Tech advances knowledge and fosters ethical leaders, laudable goals to be sure.  But the mystery enters when we ask further questions. What does it mean to advance knowledge? How does the work of advancing knowledge prepare our students to be ethical leaders? How does the university do good?  In what does that good consist?

The mission statement is silent; but our panel of esteemed colleagues is not.  In a conversation moderated by Prof. Amy Floweree (Philosophy and Member of the Humanities Center Board), we will hear answers to these questions and more from faculty who have witnessed and catalyzed the evolution of Texas Tech.  Texas Tech, it has been said, awards degrees of value, but what does that mean? We look forward to hearing some answers from the panel, the very people who have worked so hard to make Texas Tech the university it is today.

November 18, Formby Room, Southwest Collection, 5:00pm-8:00pm.
Reception to follow.
To RSVP, email humanitiescenter@ttu.edu.

Download the press release here.