October 20045 3/8 x 8, 318 pp., 1 illus.
$28.00/£20.95 (CLOTH)
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Pursuing the Endless Frontier
Essays on MIT and the Role of Research Universities
Charles M. Vest
Foreword by Norman B. Augustine
Table of Contents and Sample ChaptersIn his fourteen years as president of MIT, Charles Vest worked continuously to realize his vision of rebuilding America's trust in science and technology. In a time when the federal government dramatically reduced its funding of academic research programs and industry shifted its R&D resources into the short-term product-development process, Vest called for new partnerships with business and government. He called for universities to meet the intellectual challenges posed by the innovation-driven, globally connected needs of industry even as he reaffirmed basic academic values and the continuing need for longer-term scientific inquiry.
In Pursuing the Endless Frontier, Vest addresses these and other issues in a series of essays written during his tenure as president of MIT. He discusses the research university's need to shift to a broader, more international outlook, the value of diversity in the academic community, the greater leadership role for faculty outside the classroom, and the boundless opportunity of new scientific and technological developments even when coupled with financial constraints. In the provocative essay "What We Don't Know," Vest reminds us of what he calls "the most critical point of all," that science is driven by a deep human need to understand nature, to answer the "big questions"—that what we don't know is more important than what we do. In another essay, on the future of MIT, he celebrates MIT's strengths as being extraordinarily well-suited to the needs of an era of unprecedented change in science and technology. In "Disturbing the Educational Universe: Universities in the Digital Age—Dinosaurs or Prometheans," he describes MIT's innovative OpenCourseWare initiative, which builds on the fundamental nature of the Internet as an enabling and liberating technology.
Vest, who is stepping down from MIT's presidency in the fall of 2004, writes with clarity and insight about the issues facing academic institutions in the twenty-first century. His essays in Pursuing the Endless Frontier offer inspiration to educators and researchers seeking the way forward.
About the Author
Charles M. Vest is President of the National Academy of Engineering and President Emeritus of MIT.
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"If you are looking for a single volume that will provide a window into the most important issues facing higher education and science and technology policy today, I would recommend Chuck Vest's Pursuing the Endless Frontier. In this collection of thought-provoking essays, Vest displays the far-ranging intelligence and plain-spoken style that have made him one of the most effective academic leaders in the U.S." "Pursuing the Endless Frontier says much about Chuck Vest as a leader. What comes through on reading this collection of his essays is the clarity of his thinking, his character and principles, and important insights about how he guided MIT through times of challenge and change." "For the last eleven years of Chuck Vest's MIT presidency, I have marveled at the way that he has stood out among college presidents as a visible, effective, and very articulate leader of national science and technology policies. It turns out that he has also been a dynamic driver of major changes at MIT, proving to be a model university president who has had a major beneficial impact on his institution. How did one person find the time to fulfill both roles? As this book reveals, Dr. Vest is a master at focusing on the central issues. He has also been bold, willing to stick his neck out repeatedly for what he believes. This is not only a book that should be read to learn how to lead a modern university; it can also inspire us all to become more effective leaders." Pursuing the Endless Frontier Essays on MIT and the Role of Research Universities Charles M. Vest Foreword by Norman B. Augustine
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Sample Chapter - Download PDF (101 KB)
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