The
Second in a Series on New College Presidents
President
Bob Kerrey Harnesses the New School
By
Jacob M. Appel
After
only a few minutes chatting with New School University President
J. Robert “Bob” Kerrey, one might easily forget that he heads
a university and not a country. The former Nebraska Governor and
two term United States Senator quickly steers the conversation
to national politics, weaving a policy tapestry in which funding
for higher education and the economic welfare of the country are
inextricably intertwined.
“Say
you’re not a compassionate conservative,” says Kerrey, his eyes
dancing and his words rolling quickly. “Say you’re not a compassionate
liberal. You don’t have to be a compassionate anything. On a purely
economic level, we cannot afford to shortchange education. If
you’re 50, if you’re 60 years old, you’re going to be depending
on young workers for your Social Security and your Medicare—and
if we don’t spend more now, they’re going to be earning less.”
There is intensity and passion behind Kerrey’s words, but also
a hint of impatience that reminds one of Adlai Stevenson: he appears
genuinely puzzled that his views, particularly those on the long-term
economic value of education, aren’t more widespread. Of the current
President’s plan to slash education spending, the fiscally conservative
Democrat holds no punches. “It’s stupid,” he warns.
If Kerrey sounds more like a politician in shirt sleeves than
an ivory tower academic, then his presentation dovetails neatly
with
his understanding of higher education. “I love higher education,”
explains Kerrey. “It’s been at the forefront of my agenda ever
since I was a governor working to improve the University of Nebraska
system. One cannot underestimate the importance of higher education
in building a liberal democracy.”
Kerrey observes that both our political system and our market
capitalist economic system depend on education for college-age
students and also ongoing training for adults. “Our way of government
and a market system may be preferable, but it’s not obvious that
they’re going to succeed,” he says. “If they do, it’s not accidental;
it’s not like oxygen. It’s the result of hard work.”
Yet the benefits of achieving those goals
transcend even our own national borders. “If we’re trying to persuade
the rest of the world
to follow our example...in Afghanistan, in the West Bank and Gaza...to
make democracy work...then we have to offer leadership and provide
inspiration.”
The New School University may be the right forum for Kerrey’s
approach to higher education. Founded as the New School for Social
Research by a group of intellectual notables who broke away from
Columbia University in protest against World War I era loyalty
oaths, including historian Charles Beard, economist Thorstein
Veblen and philosopher John Dewey, the school has historically
taken an interest in issues of global social justice. Its five
divisions—Eugene Lang College, Actors Studio Drama School, Milano
Graduate School, Mannes School of Music and Parsons School of
Design—are renowned for their willingness to accommodate adult
and non-traditional students. And its hallmark philosophy, a blend
of independent thought and pragmatic liberalism, appear to mesh
neatly with Kerrey’s own political leanings. “We don’t want to
become a different university,” Kerrey notes. “We want to do what
we do and we want to do it better; we don’t want to do what someplace
else does.”
He seems acutely aware that the New School serves as a niche for
bright, motivated students in the arts and social sciences who
want (or need) a less traditional education than those afforded
by Columbia or N.Y.U. Kerrey sounds partly proud-parent and partly
knowledgeable historian as he explains how Alvin Johnson built
the college in an act of rebellion against the educational establishment.
Yet while Kerrey appears wedded to that maverick radicalism, he
can’t help adding—like any savvy administrator—that Johnson’s
move “was also a tremendously sound business decision.”
Kerrey’s goals for the New School are ambitious, particularly
when it comes to integrating technology into the curriculum. Unlike
many johnny-come-lately college presidents, his credentials in
this area are immaculate: As a senator, Kerrey served as Co-Chairman
of the Congressional web-based Education Committee that championed
high-speed internet access for all the nation’s classrooms. The
committee’s report gained widespread recognition for warning that
Internet access alone wasn’t enough, but that the service had
to be rapid and complete. Otherwise, the report stated, “those
with mere access will be left behind as if they were taught from
outdated textbooks.”
Now Kerrey is determined to build the New School into a national
leader in distance learning. “This isn’t just about on-line courses,”
he is quick to point out. “It’s also about saving administrative
costs, about cutting down on data entry. A million dollars saved
on administrative costs is like 10 million more in endowment”—funds
the university can then use on other educational projects. Kerrey
also explains that distance learning is sometimes the tip of the
iceberg. At a time when many students in the social sciences attend
three or four colleges before earning a degree, distance learning
can be the gateway to full-time study. “A woman will sign up for
one on-line class while attending another school and soon she’ll
be a full-time student,” says Kerrey.
Kerrey’s own career has been far from traditional. He originally
trained as a pharmacist at the University of Nebraska, inspired
to pursue a career in the sciences by a high school chemistry
teacher named Bob Reese. Upon graduation in 1966, he joined the
Navy Seals and lost a leg serving in Vietnam; his heroism earned
him the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1970. Kerrey returned
to Nebraska and built a highly successful chain of health clubs
and restaurants. A tremendously popular Democratic governor in
a heavily Republican state, he inherited a three percent budget
deficit and a deep recession in 1982, and by 1987 he had managed
to amass a seven percent surplus. During his 12 years in the Senate,
he championed early childhood education and Head Start programs,
a strong farm economy and universal health care. Yet Kerrey also
has drawn national attention for his abortive 1992 presidential
campaign and his 1996 description of President Clinton as an unusually
good liar. Although he may be the most intellectually gifted individual
to seek the White House since Woodrow Wilson, his sharp mind and
brisk speaking style haven’t yet translated into votes at the
national level. So at the age of 58, Kerrey has traded in his
politician’s pinstripes for a cap and gown.
Kerrey admits that the transition from the Senate to academia
didn’t come easily. “For the first few months I felt like I was
trying to air-condition my house in July with the windows open,”
he quips. “Three o’clock on Friday would roll around and I’d be
ready to head out to National Airport for the flight back to Nebraska.”
Life in the Senate has a rhythm to it, says Kerrey, and there’s
a very different feel to running a university. “A CEO can’t be
a tyrant,” he explains. “He needs to be humble; he needs to recognize
that others have better ideas than he does.”
Yet soon Kerrey is back on course, systematically shredding President
Bush’s budgetary priorities. “We have 10 million children receiving
criminally substandard educations,” he laments. “We have 15 million
children for whom access to health care isn’t an option.” The
ex-Senator is both affable and persuasive. Yet Kerrey’s zeal leaves
one to wonder whether he will ever be truly content to run a university
of 27,000, albeit a highly distinguished one, when he may still
have a shot at guiding a nation of 270 million.#
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