The Definition of a University

Abstract

The world is unusually full of doubts and confusion, and among them is a very considerable confusion about the nature of a university and the character of a university education. Perhaps this confusion is greatest in those parts of the world where, because universities are an old-established feature of the landscape, they have, until recently, been accepted without very much reflection. Moreover, universities have always been manifold and somewhat ambiguous institutions which naturally resist attempts to define their character. But the creation of many new universities, the appearance of students in large numbers who come with mixed and uncertain expectations, as well as other changes, have shaken us out of the mood of acceptance into a mood of reflection. All over the world universities have now got used to hearing themselves talked about in general terms.