Putting “Universe” into University: A dream for the future of education

I dream we will take another step towards putting “universe” into university.

For me, the word university defines a place where there is access to all the knowledge in the universe. With the internet, this is certainly possible. However, the knowledge we are discussing here is what we know that we don’t know. If you want to become an expert in quantum mechanics, nowadays, you can likely acquire the information you need and the experts in the field, wherever you are, through books, email, or Zoom.

However, I believe the difference between a university and an education is that a university is primarily experiential. I completed my undergraduate degree at Rutgers University where I was surrounded by students from all kinds of social backgrounds. I learned as much from interacting with fellow students as from books and classes.

Thus, a university is limited to the extent that it can attract the “best” minds in students, faculty, and staff. Further, this process might be hampered by language. A university where instruction is conducted in English was once unable to accommodate a bright student whose only language was Swahili. Today, technology enables translation in real-time. Thus, language should no longer be an issue if a university wanted to attract a professor with expertise in medicinal plants, and the most knowledgeable individuals were in Africa or the South American Amazon.

A university that is open to the best minds in the universe regardless of the language the individuals speak offers more than knowledge, it offers the interactions in classrooms and on campuses that will enrich the lives of all who engage. The most important knowledge that has always been at the heart of education is “to know thyself.” A great part of that self-knowledge comes from others. An analogy that I like to use is that, as individuals, we are like a word in the book of life. There is meaning in the word flower, for example. However, when I say, “a ?flower with a long stem and yellow petals,” I add specificity to that flower.

Individuals that we interact with are words that can be in the same sentence. Some are in the same paragraph but not in the same sentence. Others are somewhere else on the page. In other circumstances, some individuals don’t even belong in the same chapter with us… at least in this lifetime.

The individuals in our sentence or paragraph might not come from our family, our neighborhoods, or even the same country. The next ideation of “university” will be to bring a “universe” of minds together regardless of language. Thus, when students leave such an institution, they will have a better knowledge of self than they might have acquired at a more traditional university where their interactions would have been limited to individuals who spoke their language.

?