The decline of the liberal arts, as signaled by declining enrollments, fewer majors, and the ascendency of preprofessional education, is discussed. Business is seen to be retraining students in logical thinking, the principles of cause and effect, human communication, reading, and writing--all traditional liberal arts objectives. (MLW)

Students in the best universities do not believe in anything, and those universities are doing nothing about it. The great questions--God, freedom, and immortality--hardly touch the young. The universities have no vision, no view of what a human being must know in order to be considered educated. (MLW)

The current baccalaureate trend toward professsionalization is lamented because it responds to the superficial and ultimately meaningless accouterments of professional life. The mission of developing broadly applicable intellectual capabilities must be maintained. (MLW)

Reed College, a small, liberal arts college with high academic distinction, is described. Faculty participate in virtually all policy decisions and are hired and promoted according to the quality of their teaching. Its finances are improved, but it is still underfinanced and too heavily dependent on tuition income. (MLW)