Leaders in their respective fields constantly make judgments about what is worthwhile and what is not, and what is of desirable social consequence and what is not. I recall with some amusement, during my graduate school days at the University of Wisconsin the effect, positive may I add, of Senator William Proxmire's Golden Fleece Award, given to the most useless piece of research undertaken in any given year. His was, of course, a negative sanction. Knowledge is not enough . Not only is analytical sophistication a desirable quality, moral depth and a commitment to democratic, constitutional and human rights values are required also.
Good leadership requires a capacity for rendering moral discrimination.
And moral discrimination is rooted in life. Education refines and reinforces ethical values acquired much earlier in life, typically by how our parents decided how they wished to live their lives. Higher education can add value to such decisions, by grounding individuals in the philosophical and ethical bases of the humanities, the liberal arts and the sciences. Universities are being challenged . Universities are not the only sources of knowledge today.