Hutchins, Robert M. 1899-1977

UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT, EDUCATIONAL INNOVATOR

"The Tradition of the West."

President of the University of Chicago by the age of thirty, Robert M. Hutchins's sudden rise to prominence in education was due to his ability to put educational philosophy into an accessible public form. An arresting speaker, Hutchins gave over one hundred speeches a year, most of them deploring the state of American education. Hutchins condemned egalitarianism and progressive education. Something of an elitist, he also feared that the increasing specialization of society was undermining its civilized foundation. His solution was to advocate a classics-based education designed to familiarize all citizens with "the tradition of the West." In the 1940s such an educational philosophy had enormous appeal, especially after the barbarism of the Nazis. It also appealed to those who feared the communism of the East and those who were anxious over the...

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