Robert M. Hutchins Quotes & Sayings

“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.”

“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.”

“A liberal education... frees a man from the prison-house of his class, race, time, place, background, family and even his nation.”

“Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think straight, if possible.”

“This is a do-it-yourself test for paranoia: you know you've got it when you can't think of anything that's your fault.”

“It is not so important to be serious as it is to be serious about the important things. The monkey wears an expression of seriousness which would do credit to any college student, but the monkey is serious because he itches.”

“The three major administrative problems on a campus are sex for the students, athletics for the alumni, and parking for the faculty.”

“A world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive short-wave facilities scattered; about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals.”

“The college graduate is presented with a sheepskin to cover his intellectual nakedness.”

“When I feel like exercising I just lie down until the feeling goes away.”