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Multiversity

The multiversity portrays a remarkable departure from the ideals and roles of universities in the previous centuries, but it has a longstanding connection to the traditions of the earlier universities, more so, the German (University of Berlin), English (University of Oxford), and Greek universities models. There is a significant difference in the planning, purpose, and organization of universities in terms of structure, curriculum and pedagogy in the earlier centuries and current century. There has been a marked transformation in the idea and use of the university between these periods as evidenced by the changing nature, composition and purpose of the university. Clark Kerr bases the paper on the chapter “The idea of a Multiversity” on the uses of the university in which he traces the steps and evolution of higher education by focusing on the ideas and theories that have shaped and influenced the use and purpose of university in the contemporary world. The main thesis of this paper is that the idea of university as defined and expressed by the original founders and developers of universities in earlier centuries is different from the modern meaning and use of the university. With time, through the elaborations and combinations of the previous ideas and traditions of the university as exemplified by early scholars, the meaning, idea and use of the university has been transformed completely by giving forth a new term, known as multiversity. The multiversity has progressed as an integrated model of the English university ideologies, German and Greek, the ideas propagated by the founders of these universities were evident in the management and faculty of the universities, of Berlin, Oxford, Bologna and Edinburg that later evolved to form the foundation of the current multiversity as put forward by Kerr. Essentially, multiversity, that later emerged as a distinct and new model of university in the United States combines the precepts of the above four universities. Kerr’s dictum argues for a new form of the university in relation to governance. The American universities changed to become the grand stage for mass higher education. Kerr has emphasized the historical evolution of the American from teaching-based to research-based. Kerr opines that the multiversity put more emphasis on research as opposed to earlier universities that focused on teaching.

The transition from traditional universities to multiversity as emphasized was a massive transformation process and involved the combination of numerous models, ideas and traditional from early universities. As highlighted in the preceding paragraph, before the advent of the term and concept of multiversity, the idea and use of the university as advanced by earlier scholars was different. The following statement neatly encapsulates the meaning, vision and idea of the university as envisioned by Cardinal Newman in the earlier centuries. “The university is the high protecting power of all knowledge and science, of fact and principle, of inquiry and discovery, of experiment and speculation; it maps out the territory of the intellect …” (Kerr 2). It is easy to tell from the above expression that Newman pursued the idea of the university that was biased towards liberal knowledge. The distinctive feature of the university during the period of Newman and other scholars such as Plato was pursuit and transmission of fundamental truths, institutional autonomy and instruction at an advanced level. Newman defended and propagated the faculty oriented liberal education and advanced the idea of a university to comprise of a small community of professors and students (Kerr 2). This clarifies why the eighteenth century universities were trivial and limited to predominantly disciplines and ability, the main objective of the traditional university program as suggested by Newman was knowledgeable advancement and alignment, according to Newman, the university was supposed to be an academic cloister (Kerr 1).

Furthermore, other ideas and purposes of the university came-up in the middle decades of twentieth century through Flexner, who advanced a new model of the university focused on research. Flexner held the view that a university should have a greater interaction with the society through research since research was foreseen to play integral role in the new economic age that was emerging. Similarly, Filner also advanced the view that graduate and professional programs were crucial for the new economic age and hence it was prudent for a university to not only enhance interaction with society through research but also through graduate and professional programs. In relation to expansion, Flexner had a rather conservative view that seemed limit the functions and service of a university. According to Flexner, it was imperative for the organic core of the university to prevent the encroachment of service programs in the university faculty and further limit the expansion of the university (Kerr 4). Flexner raised an alarm over the encroachment of service programs into the faculty; whereas, Newman put more emphasis on the idea of a university, Kerr stressed on the uses of the university. Clark Kerr in the article advances the concept of multiversity by outlining different theories, ideas and realities of multiversity by tracing the concept and origin of universities back to the middle ages and earlier centuries. The concept of multiversity is a major departure point from the model of conventional universities that put more emphasis on singular faculty or discipline; moreover, Clark Kerr provides a new meaning to the recent study university by coining the term multiversity. As a result, the term (multiversity) has gained wide acceptance in the American education and global education community since it portrayed a new outlook in higher education. The transformation of the American higher education as advanced by Kerry was evident after the Cold war, when the fusion of the earlier ideas and concepts of the university began to take center stage.

The multiversity consists of a wide array of entities and people that are jostling for the control and enhance influence on the operations and activities of the university. The concept of multiversity deviates from the original, ancient meaning of the university as put forward by Newman, Flexner and other scholars. In the current century, Kerr focuses on the uses of the university and advances the view that the university should be large, diverse and complex. Kerr discredits the view of Newman that the university should be a small community comprising of professors and students by propagating that the university should be complex and highly diverse. When compared to the previous university, the current university is a complete departure from the initial one. In particular, the expansion of higher education as opined by Kerr which entailed increase in college access and enrollment, construction of more campuses, recruitment and hiring of additional faculty staff and expansion of the capacity of postsecondary research, teaching and service has a created a new face and puose of the university (Kerr 21). It is evident that universities of the eighteenth and nineteenth century did not receive any financial support or grant from the state. Most of the universities during these periods were intended to train and instruct men who would in turn enter into clergy or high carder civil service.

When compared to the previous role of president in universities, there is a significant role of the current presidents of multiversity in respect to earlier presidents of the universities. The current president of the multiversity is expected to have diverse roles and responsibilities and should be a collegiate to faculty members and students. Clark Kerr seeks to explain the origin and emergence of modern university by dwelling on the new role of the university president. . He does this by coining the term, multiversity and begins to trace the origin and factors behind the modernization of American universities at rapid rates after the civil war. According to Kerr, the American universities are not the replica of universities from United Kingdom or Germany but a new type and model of institution in the world. The modern American university is unique and do not resemble either the universities that are found the other parts of the globe since it has combined various ideas and diversities. Another significant feature of the multiversity as advanced by Kerr relates to the role and functions of presidents and the governnce of multiversity (Kerr 13). In the contemporary university, Kerr also takes a paradigm shift by defining the new role and responsibilities of university president. Kerr asserts that the current president of a university should be a mediator rather an authoritarian heroic figure as was proposed by early founders of universities such as Newman.

The impact of the multiversity on students, faculties and society cannot be re-overemphasized, it is obvious that multiversity has significantly influenced and caused transformation on faculties and student organizations. There exists an explicit connection between the modern university and multiversity as advanced by Kerr and the previous ideas and traditions from early scholars such as Newman, Plato and Flexner. Although it is evident that the idea and purpose of university as advanced by Kerr deviates from the earlier ideas, states and purposes of the university as put forward by Newman and Flexner, it is has influenced the new university that Kerr has christened as multiversity. The ideas and traditions presented by earlier scholars and universities such as Oxford and Berlin have evolved to form the multiversity. To be more precise, the evolution of multiversity as advanced by Clark Kerr occurred in the late nineteenth century and through the entire twentieth century. Multiversity therefore combines and integrates the multiple task and conflicting ideas that were proposed by earlier developers of Universities in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. It is through the elaboration of the eighteenth and nineteenth century ideas and tradition of the university that led to the emergence of multiversity. The combination of the several ideas and diverse purposes of the university as explained by Kerr led to development and establishment of multiversity.

To reaffirm the issues addressed in the paper, it is clear that multiversity has emerged because of a long-term fusion and integration of various ideas and models of pre-modern universities, especially from English, German and Greek countries. Kerry asserts that current universities comprise a whole series of communities and activities that are combined and integrated by a common name, governing board and purposes. The article is monumental and influential and the impact of the article has been crucial in influencing modern purpose, use and composition of the university. The idea and mission of university as propagated by earlier scholars was restrictive and authoritarian while Kerr has bridged both divides by fusing the previous ideas and traditions to form the multiversity that is all encompassing.

Works Cited

Kerr, Clark. The Uses of the University. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963. Print.