Educating the Global Scholar: Toward a Globally Oriented Institution

Abstract

What constitutes the curricular experience for the award of a baccalaureate degree has never been static and could not have been expected to be if higher education is to fulfill its role to a dynamic society. Since the creation of the modern university, the role of higher education has continued to expand, initially serving to prepare the clergy for the church, later to prepare statesmen, much later to prepare the general citizens for gainful employment. Although performed differently by different institutions, the mission of a modern university is basically a universal one: to generate knowledge, transmit knowledge, serve as the custodian of the stock of knowledge, and provide service to society. In other words, the role of a university is to create, critique, and transform civilizations.

Keywords

• curricular experience
• higher education
• modern university