Excellence Without a Soul

Excellence Without A Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education

Author	Harry R. Lewis
Language	English
Subject	higher education
Publisher	PublicAffairs
Publication date	2006
Publication place	United States
ISBN	1-58648-501-6

Presidents, deans, and professors rarely tell students simple truths, for example that the strategizing and diligence that got them into the college of their choice may not, if followed thoughtlessly, lead to an adult life they will find worth living.

p.xiii

The old ideal of a liberal education lives on in name only. No longer does Harvard teach the things that will free the human mind and spirit.

p. 253

Excellence Without A Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education (reissued as Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future?) is a 2006 book by Harry R. Lewis (Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) examining the state of American higher education, with particular reference to Harvard. It attracted considerable attention for its trenchant analysis of undergraduate education, much of it based on his experience as dean of Harvard College (1995–2003).

It has been translated into Chinese and Korean.

References

• Poison Ivy: A Harvard man urges the school to redefine its mission, Christopher Shea, The Washington Post, July 2, 2006.
• Review by William Gasarch (2007) in ACM SIGACT News 38(1): 9–13, doi:10.1145/1233481.1233486
• Examining the Crimson's civic slide, Jim Sleeper, The Boston Globe, May 28, 2006.

External links

• Official Website
• Discussion on C-SPAN
• Transcript of Discussion Reported in The Washington Post