The lecture notes have been taken, the stage cleared, the banners pulled down, and the Dow Center emptied. Another Center for Constructive Alternatives seminar has come and gone at Hillsdale College.
With the exception of Monday’s fire alarm scare, this CCA looked much like those that of years past. As before, we gleaned the wisdom of speakers working in a variety of disciplines. We enjoyed speeches from the likes of Joseph Epstein, who kicked off the week by asking why we should read biographies, and Paul Mariani, who delivered a stunning meditation on what we learn from the lives of the poets.
But yet again, students didn’t get to hear enough from Hillsdale’s own experts.
Last year, the Collegian staff wrote an editorial arguing for Hillsdale to replace the faculty roundtable with a full speech from one of Hillsdale’s scholars. Despite boasting professors who have undeniable expertise in CCA topics, Hillsdale professors typically get a mere 10 minutes during the faculty roundtable in which to address students — a session most guests and other speakers often don’t attend. Yet it’s at this faculty roundtable that some of the best wisdom of the CCAs — wisdom cut all too short — is distilled.
The first CCA wisely featured Churchill scholar President Larry Arnn for a full lecture, and CCA II enlisted Associate Professor of History Kenneth Calvert to speak on the history of money. For this seminar, why not dedicate a full hour to the wisdom of much-loved Professor of History Bradley Birzer, whose biography of Russell Kirk was recently reviewed by the New York Times?
The CCAs aim to educate our students and give guests a taste of Hillsdale College. What better way to accomplish both these goals than by making sure one of our own well-qualified professors speaks at every CCA? It is, after all, our own faculty members who know best how to address the hearts and minds of Hillsdale students, and it is our own professors who will give the most accurate representation of Hillsdale to the college’s guests.
The fire alarm incident may have successfully shaken up the old CCA routine this year, but let’s shake it up differently in future. Let’s start giving our own professors the time and space they deserve at the CCA podium.