Authors who offer a fierce critique of the American university system singled out Linfield College as an exception to the downward trend.
In an Atlantic interview with the authors of Higher Education?: How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money And Failing Our Kids — And What We Can Do About It, Linfield is cited first in a list of American colleges and universities where students are still a priority.
The book, by Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus, is generating headlines across the country for its strong criticism of modern academia. Many professors, they say, lack interest in teaching and are lost to the minutiae of arcane disciplines, and too many schools cater to celebrity researchers at the expense of students.
The upshot? American students aren’t offered the quality undergraduate teaching they deserve. But students can still get an excellent liberal arts education at select schools, the authors say.
“Have you ever heard of Linfield College?” the authors ask in the Atlantic interview. “We were very impressed with the campus. The professors care. They spend time with the students.”
Linfield is also listed as a favorite college on their blog. They write, “Linfield College, in the wine country of Western Oregon, is a small liberal arts school that manages to educate its bright students without frills. Its campus is attractive, but simple. Teaching matters there.”
“What’s Wrong with the American University System,” Atlantic
