Multiplicity, Belonging, and Free Speech in US Higher Education

An innovative and insightful account of the major crises in US higher education today and how we might best solve them. --James P. Sterba, Philosophy Department, University of Notre Dame In this timely analysis, Zack offers a cogent diagnosis of the crises facing higher education, from the enrollment cliff to student protest and adjunct labor. Her compelling and cogent map of how colleges and universities can meet these challenges provides a road forward grounded in common sense, empathy, and belonging. --Jordan Pascoe, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Zack's lucid and balanced analysis of the challenges facing American colleges and universities makes the bold and original claim that ethical philosophy can offer constructive solutions. This book is a must-read for everyone who cares about access, excellence, and the future of liberal arts study in public higher education. --Emily Sohmer Tai, professor of history, Queensborough Community College, CUNY, former co-editor of CUNY's UFS Blog In Multiplicity, Belonging, and Free Speech in US Higher Education, Naomi Zack brilliantly demonstrates how moral philosophy can contribute to challenges facing the contemporary American University. Having explored these issues with her many students, Zack brings to us fresh approaches that address chronic contemporary challenges: student admissions and retention, racial and class diversity, adjunct faculty, responsible speech, a better anchoring of the humanities, and other matters that make equity, community, and academic investigations collectively sustainable. Her work makes an original and timely contribution to the growing, needed discourse on university ethics today. --James F. Keenan, S.J., Canisius Professor, Boston College, author of University Ethics: How Colleges Can Build and Benefit from a Culture of Ethics