Jennifer Frey, professor of philosophy at the University of Tulsa, has seen the transformational power of a liberal education in the testimonials of her students, who have shared how that education has challenged and shaped them.
Frey visited Colgate and delivered a lecture, “Liberal Learning and the Idea of a University,” on Nov. 7 — part of a series of events in celebration of the Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions, honoring Founding Director Robert Kraynak, professor of political science, and recognizing the 20th anniversary of the former Center for Freedom and Western Civilization.
Frey contends there is more to a liberal educational foundation than training for a life of work, whether the intellectual work of a professor or the practical work of an engineer.
“No matter what career you choose in life, you still have to know what your work is for and what your money is for, and what you are living for,” Frey said. “And if you’re never trained to ask and answer the question of what it's for, if we never let ourselves wonder in a disciplined and serious way about who and what we are, where we’re going, and why we're going there, then we are not fully free and our free time becomes nothing more than a brief restorative period that allows us to get back to work more efficiently and productively.”
A liberally educated person has reflected in a disciplined way about those questions, and Frey said a person who has undertaken such a course of study has the potential to gain the internal freedom to flourish as a human person. “Her deliberations going forward will be guided by a vision of what it means to be a good human being, and inform choices and what work she will engage in, but also how to contribute to the common good of the communities of which she finds herself a part.”
Frey said if the university wants to tell everyone that such freedom is not its business and could be taken care of by the church, “I think we really need to question if there is any difference between a university and a trade school after all. And it seems to me the difference becomes more obscure every day.”
What about students who may seek out high-income fields to try to get as much of a return on investment as possible on a costly higher education? Frey said she doesn’t believe studying business is a waste of time, but any field of study needs to have a liberal education as its foundation if it’s truly a university education.
“In terms of ROI, the ROI is your life,” Frey said. “I can promise you, because it’s a fact. Having a lot of money doesn’t make you happy. It’s a fact, we know it, and we’ve studied it, so you need to have something more than that.”
Frey’s lecture was sponsored by the Kraynak Institute and co-sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, and University Events.
The Kraynak Institute, under the co-directorship of Associate Professor of Art Carolyn Guile and George Carleton Jr. Professor of Philosophy David Dudrick, cultivates intellectual diversity within a liberal arts education. It upholds the ideal of a classical liberal arts education through a rigorous engagement with political theory, intellectual history, and Western traditions. It also supports the study of free speech, free enterprise, and constitutional democracy, continuing its public lectures and summer scholars programs, as well as adding three new forums for faculty, staff, and students to foster additional discussion.
The celebration of the Kraynak Institute is part of Colgate’s broadening scope of its four major institutes for advanced study, aligned with the University’s Third-Century Plan. The expansion is designed to enhance student intellectual engagement with the pressing issues of the day, expand public engagement, and to strengthen connections with alumni and other scholars.
During her visit to Colgate, Frey also presented a lecture, “What is Practical Truth?”, at an event co-sponsored by the Kraynak Institute and The Jerome Balmuth Fund Nov. 6. The Kraynak Institute also hosted a Happy Hour gathering at Donovan’s Pub on Thursday to discuss Frey’s visit, and will host another on Thursday, Nov. 13.
Dudrick praised Frey’s leadership at an Honors College “that brought students into close fellowship not just with their teachers and with each other, but with thinkers whose ideas have shaped the project of liberal arts education, which we all here so value.”
Watch the full recording of Frey's “Liberal Learning and the Idea of a University" lecture.
Jennifer A. Frey is a professor of philosophy at the University of Tulsa, where she served as the inaugural dean of their Honors College. She holds fellowship positions at the Catholic University of America and at the interfaith Carver Project. Her John Templeton Foundation grant funded the study of “Virtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life,” and she hosts a podcast on philosophy, theology, and literature called Sacred and Profane Love.