Pointing Our Thoughts

As president of Harvard University, Neil Rudenstine has enjoyed a unique perspective on the state of higher learning, while exerting a significant influence on its recent and future course. Published to commemorate his decade-long tenure, this selection of Rudenstine’s talks and writings illuminates many of the ideas and issues that animate higher education today.

In a collection of more than fifty speeches and writings, Rudenstine eloquently explores topics both timely and timeless, from the educational importance of diversity to the enduring value of the humanities; from the teaching potential of new technologies to the profound benefits of basic research; from developments in the professions and public service to the singular power of education to transform lives.

Specially designed and printed in a limited edition, Pointing Our Thoughts features a foreword by Hanna Holborn Gray, President Emeritus of the University of Chicago and a member of the Harvard Corporation. As Gray remarks, “To read [Rudenstine’s] thoughtful and beautifully crafted speeches is to hear the voice of a teacher deeply committed to the vocation of opening minds to reflection and insight, listening intensely to his colleagues and entering with them into a continuing process of intellectual dialogue, sharing the convictions and perplexities of the search for understanding.” This volume is testament to that commitment. It represents an invaluable addition to the literature on higher education in America and around the world.