HAIG lecture: Essential Element in Liberal Education

Learning takes place in a space that involves a built and natural environment. Taken together, these two elements help to create a distinctive total college experience. The interaction between the place of learning and the content to be learned is subtle and difficult to quantify. It is too often unrecognized or not considered in planning for new physical or intellectual needs. This talk uses the history of Cornell to highlight that the uniqueness of our total space contributes more than we recognize to the distinctiveness of Cornell. It argues that the element of space is ever present and neglecting it has serious consequences. All this seems relevant to the need for enlarging and redefining a place we inherited from the 19th century and plan to make it a tool (learning community) for the 21st. The Rev. Richard Thomas, emeritus chaplain and professor of history, will present this lecture on March 10th.