Tom,
There is no implicit assumption that academic institutions are not
doing anything, in fact it explicitly says the opposite.
Clearly there is an implicit assumption that they could do more or
different - no-one supporting FoW could fail to agree with that ?
I don't believe the data gathering needs to be informed by any
particular view, but ...
That said, I do agree with your point on doing the homework on the
individual institutions - knowing what initiatives they are already
involved with. I made some similar suggestion that a more informed
personal touch would make any proposal more attractive, and avoid
being treated as spam.
(I keep making marketing - our attractiveness & professional
credibility - suggestions in this space, but that's a wider issue.)
Regards
Ian
On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 7:13 PM, tom abeles<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> hi nick/all
>
> Globally, there are now associations of universities who share knowledge
> about what each institution is doing internally to go "green". This is at
> the institutional level and I would suggest that those on this list first do
> their homework by joining these organizations or researching what is going
> on and what future plans are
>
> Globally, there are now various membership organizations involving various
> parts of universities, from the humanities to the practical
> sciences/engineering looking at and becoming involved at the
> student/faculty/program/course levels as well as at the research levels,
> often funded by a variety of sources from corporations to governments and
> foundations.
>
> I would be afraid that any request to an officer of a university for
> information which is readily available on the web and through collegial
> exchanges would be dropped in the circular file as a student led project
> badly developed or from some organization that may or may not benefit the
> university by responding.
>
> Is there an implicit assumption here that universities are not doing
> anything or not doing enough or not doing it appropriately at either the
> institutional or faculty level?
>
> there are some assumptions here that need to be examined, including whether
> such a letter is informed by "wisdom".
>
> best
>
> tom
>
> tom abeles
>
>> Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2009 15:55:32 +0200
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Proposal for FoW Campaign
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Simple and practical - go for it.
>>
>> Small detail improvements:
>> To make it internationally palatable - I'd probably drop the "in the
>> UK and elsewhere".
>> I'd "flatter" the recipient into a response. "Many universities and
>> academic institutions like yours ... "
>> The personal touch - I'd swap out the "vice-chancellor" for whatever
>> the appropriate title for the given recipient at the given
>> instititution - we don't want it to look like our contribution to the
>> mountain of spam.
>>
>> Regards
>> Ian
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 12:01 PM, Nicholas
>> Maxwell<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> > Dear Friend of Wisdom,
>> >
>> > I have a proposal for a FoW Campaign
>> > that
>> > I would like you to consider. The idea is this. We send a letter, or
>> > an
>> > email, to vice-chancellors or vice-presidents of universities - perhaps
>> > initially in the UK - pointing out that humanity faces grave global
>> > problems, and asking what is being done in your university to help solve
>> > the
>> > problems. We explain that we hope to produce a report on the matter,
>> > and we
>> > would like to include an account of steps being taken at your university
>> > in
>> > our report.
>> >
>> > Here is a draft of the letter, or
>> > email,
>> > that we might send.
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Dear Vice-Chancellor,
>> >
>> > We face grave global problems of poverty,
>> > injustice, war, environmental degradation, unsustainable economic
>> > development, population growth, rapid extinction of other species, the
>> > AIDS
>> > epidemic, lack of enlightened political leadership – and the greatest
>> > menace
>> > of all: climate change. Increasingly, academics ask
>> > whether Universities
>> > are doing enough to help humanity learn how to tackle these global
>> > problems
>> > intelligently, effectively and humanely. Acquiring relevant knowledge
>> > and
>> > technological know-how is vital but insufficient. Universities also
>> > need to
>> > develop and assess policies designed, if implemented, to help solve our
>> > global problems. They also need to engage in far more active public
>> > education, by means of discussion and debate. Universities need to seek
>> > and
>> > promote wisdom, and not just acquire knowledge. Many universities in
>> > the UK
>> > and elsewhere are introducing changes so as to help humanity tackle
>> > global
>> > problems more effectively: see the attached article "Are Universities
>> > Undergoing an Intellectual Revolution?".
>> >
>> > I would be very grateful if you could
>> > send me
>> > a summary of changes that have been made at your university in the last
>> > five
>> > years or so along these lines. I belong to an organization called
>> > Friends
>> > of Wisdom which campaigns for academic change. We hope to publish a
>> > Report
>> > on developments now going on in universities of the kind indicated, and
>> > we
>> > would very much like to include an account of those that have occurred,
>> > or
>> > are planned, in your university.
>> >
>> > Yours sincerely,
>> >
>> > Nicholas Maxwell
>> > (Emeritus Reader at University College London)
>> > (Friends of Wisdom: http://www.knowledgetowisdom.org/ )
>> >
>> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > Our hope would be that this campaign would
>> > help provoke the academic revolution humanity so urgently needs. The
>> > campaign would however require quite a lot of work to carry out.
>> > Whether it
>> > would result in a Report would depend on what kind of response we get.
>> >
>> > Is it a good idea? Is it feasible? Is
>> > it
>> > worth trying? If so, should we begin with the UK? What would be the
>> > best
>> > way to proceed? Who would be willing to help with the UK pilot project?
>> >
>> > I hope to hear from you.
>> >
>> > Best wishes,
>> >
>> > Nick
>> > www.nick-maxwell.demon.co.uk
>> >
>> >
>
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