Teagle Foundation’s New President: Private Universities Have Public Responsibilities

Andrew Delbanco has been a professor of American studies at Columbia University for more than three decades. In that time he’s won teaching awards and written about higher education. In July he’ll take over from Judith Shapiro as president of the Teagle Foundation.

He spoke to The Chronicle on Wednesday about what he wants to emphasize as the leader of this foundation, which is focused on strengthening liberal-arts education. The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q. What’s been the biggest change you’ve made to your teaching practice since you started?

A. I like to think I’ve become a better teacher over the 35 years or so. What does it mean to be a better teacher? I think it means to be more alert to the questions in the minds of one’s students. It means to be better at clearly explaining complicated ideas. In my case it means to find better ways to convey the dignity and authenticity of people who lived a very long time ago.

It’s really hard to convince most of the students whom I teach at Columbia that these New England Calvinists who came over in the 17th century have anything worth listening to. I believe very strongly in teaching that involves dialogue with students. It’s not that I’m closed-minded about online teaching methods. But my own feeling is that the transformative experiences still tend to be most likely to happen in small classes where students and teachers get to know each other.

You’re never going to reach all of them. It’s my experience that if the teacher is really passionate, a significant number of students will notice it.

Q. You’re a midsized foundation, but changing teaching and improving academic quality is a pretty big goal. What do you see as the role for the Teagle Foundation?

A. I’d describe Teagle as a conversation-starter and maybe a conversation-changer. By making thoughtfully constructed, targeted grants to exceptional people and institutions, we hope to make a difference in how people are thinking about higher education.

Q. What’s the right way to be thinking about higher education?

A. I feel very strongly that private institutions need to do a better job of meeting their public responsibilities. I think there is a sense that private institutions serve their own students well, that they serve mainly students from affluent families, although that can be an unfair charge. But I feel the strongest should be doing a better job at understanding their community as larger than their students, alumni, and donors.

In my own writing I have tried to make the case that liberal education is the best rehearsal we have for democracy. The liberally educated person is a better citizen. That doesn’t mean that you have to have a college degree to be a good citizen. It does mean that colleges and universities have an obligation to prepare our students for not just a job or a career, but also engaged citizenship with the larger community. Certain basics are important, such as a basic understanding of the U.S. Constitution, which I fear many graduates have only a weak understanding of.

Q. You’re at Columbia and earned your degree from Harvard, both elite institutions. Do you see that as something you need to overcome in this role?

A. I think everybody who’s had the good fortune that I’ve had has to be on guard against becoming provincial and patronizing, and needs to keep in mind that the elite section of higher education is a tiny sliver. So I try to see the world more largely than what one sees from Morningside Heights.

I’ve visited a lot of campuses, community colleges, comprehensive universities. I have some feel for how much good work is done and how many wonderful students there are all over this country.

I think we really exaggerate the distinctions in quality. We confuse them with the prestige ladder. I will say quite frankly that people at very well-resourced, wealthy institutions have a challenge to make the case that they need our help. I do bring that assumption to the table.

Nell Gluckman writes about faculty issues and other topics in higher education. You can follow her on Twitter @nellgluckman, or email her at nell.gluckman@chronicle.com.