Session V: Lecture - Universities and Development: How Are Universities Agents of Social Change?

While higher education has been regarded as an engine of social mobility for those who have access to it, universities have also become instruments of social intervention for those who lack access. “Service” is an increasingly prominent facet of education. This is perhaps most evident in the burgeoning field of global public health and legal training. The notion that institutions of higher education should be at the vanguard of innovation and invention has paved the way for new partnerships with the private sector. This has been especially pronounced for institutions in developing societies, where it has fallen upon universities and colleges to promote the acquisition of skills combined with a social mission to “catch up.” How should we think about the balance between objective inquiry and social engagement? Does this challenge the traditional organization of teaching and research framed around classical disciplines? Does it overstretch the mission of already overcommitted institutions? Are service and development ornaments or organic parts of learning? Moderator: Olivier Bouin, Director, Network of French Institutes for Advanced Study Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Pretoria, South Africa Don M. Randel ’62 *67, President Emeritus, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the University of Chicago Pauline Yu, President, American Council of Learned Societies