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Speech to the American Association of Law Schools

Dr. G. David Gearhart speaks to the American Association of Law Schools

January 3, 2008 12:30-2:00 p.m.

Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation to come speak today. I hope everyone has recovered from the holidays. It's great to be back in New York City, particularly when all the crazy holiday shoppers are not out in full force!

I thought I might address a subject of some seriousness today. I don't want to be too heavy at lunch time, but ... It's an area of some concern to me, and something I think we need to start talking more about. Specifically, I would like to address the challenges facing higher education, from the undergraduate to the graduate level, and highlight some of the challenges facing law schools in particular.

As your program indicates, I'm Dave Gearhart, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement for the University of Arkansas, so much of my experience pertains to the U of A these days. Though I will be drawing on that experience for some of my anecdotal evidence, what's happening in Arkansas is not unique to higher education across the nation.

Serious, serious challenges face higher education in this country-from Penn State to the University of Oregon-the University of Arkansas' challenges are merely emblematic of some overall trends that bear discussion. These challenges will have profound effects on both the graduate and undergraduate level.

While you might rightly be more concerned with what is going on at the graduate level as representatives of law schools, what we are seeing at the undergraduate level will undoubtedly be felt at the graduate level. There will almost certainly be a "trickle up" effect, if you will.

Before I begin to sound like a Cassandra, it is important to note that the fundamental aspects of higher education are not broken, in my mind. What I am about to discuss are merely areas of concern we need to begin planning for and addressing.

A report released by the American Council on Education, along with five other national organizations, stated the following, and I quote, "The most basic goals of an undergraduate education remain the ability to think, write, and speak clearly; to reason critically; to solve problems; to work collaboratively; to acquire field-specific knowledge; and to acquire the judgment, analytic capacity, and independence of thought to support continued, self-driven, life-long learning, and engaged citizenship. These critical goals of undergraduate education must endure."

I believe these critical goals have endured and continue to be the basic elements of our educational process at the University of Arkansas and across the country.

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