The Phi Beta Kappa Society’s Zeta Chapter of Georgia at Mercer University will host the fourth annual Malcolm Lester Phi Beta Kappa Lectures on Liberal Arts and Public Life this spring.
Dr. William D. Adams, former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will present three lectures on the theme “Getting Ready: The Liberal Arts and Sciences in the Post-Pandemic World” March 25-26. The lectures will be livestreamed.
“The events of the past year will have a long-term impact on the United States. In these lectures, Dr. Adams assesses the impact and offers a vision of liberal learning that prepares students to meet new challenges and opportunities,” said Dr. David A. Davis, president of Mercer’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and editor of the Lester Lecture Series.
Dr. Adams’ opening lecture is titled “Work Readiness” and will take place March 25 at 11 a.m. It will be followed by “Participation Readiness” March 25 at 5:30 p.m. and “Meaning Readiness” March 26 at 11 a.m.
“Undergraduate students in the United States will soon inherit a world vastly changed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Adams. “What form of higher education is best suited to the challenges they will encounter? These lectures will make the case for the unique power and relevance of the liberal arts and sciences in meeting the needs of our current circumstances. Only the liberal arts and sciences are capable of equipping our students with the forms of knowledge, understanding and concern that the world now requires.”
Continue reading about the lecture series at news.mercer.edu.
