Word: conant
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...academic and social environment have made these goals appear in a very different light. The title of that committee's 1945 report, "General Education in a Free Society," immediately conjures up the specter of the Fascist society that America had just helped defeat in war. When President Conant in 1936 called for an educational program that could resist the "wave of anti-intellectualism sweeping around the world," the purpose and the value of the liberal arts ideal was very clear. But while liberal arts has continued to embody American values, these values no longer seem as noble as they...
...DEATH OF James Bryant Conant '14 last week marks the passing of one of the great figures of Harvard history. His roles as educator, scientist and diplomat combined to create an influence virtually unsurpassed by others of his generation...
Harvard presidents can be roughly divided into two categories: those who routinely go about their business, fund-raising and administering the university on a day-to-day basis, and those whose spark of genius makes them major educational forces on a national and international stage. Conant was clearly of the latter kind. The impact of his contributions towards higher and secondary education are unmatched by any present-day educational leader...
Discussions presently underway at Harvard on the core curriculum, for instance, are an outgrowth of Conant's seminal understanding of the need for a general education. The 1945 report "General Education in a Free Society," sponsored by Conant, led to the introduction of general education programs at Harvard and elsewhere...
...Conant's other contributions were equally impressive. He was a chemist of some note and during his tenure as Harvard president served as a science advisor to the government, working on the atomic bomb project. In 1953 he resigned as Harvard president to become High Commissioner to the German Republic, and shortly thereafter took over as our first post-war ambassador to that country. During his later years, Conant was to have a profound influence on public-school education, publishing a series of recommendations that have affected the direction it has taken...