The foundation of an outstanding liberal education, of course, is the quality of our teaching. Good teaching in each and every class is not just an individual responsibility, but a departmental and indeed a University-wide responsibility. A poorly taught course hurts us all, while superbly taught courses, like outstanding research, enhance our reputation. In thinking about how to improve all aspects of our students' educational experience, I have found the report of the student life task force and my discussions with current students and alumni particularly illuminating. They are enormously proud of their Chicago education, but all too frequently they speak of unremitting academic pressure interfering with their ability to learn and to make the most of their time here.
Some academic pressure is a natural and productive part of a serious education.
This is not a call for less rigorous intellectual standards. It is a call for us to recognize that a student's life encompasses more than course work, and to make sure that our students have time for other activities that lead to personal growth. Consider, for example, the remarkably talented mathematician-cellist who each week spends 20 hours in practice and five additional hours in lessons with the principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As faculty we must convey to students that we respect the taste and maturity they have shown in choosing to come here and that we applaud their seriousness of purpose. We do not fall short of our aspirations as educators and our students do not fall short of their aspirations as learners when they decide to become bankers or film producers instead of professors.