Philosopher, teacher, promoter of 'liberal learning for purposeful engagement.
Mount Holyoke College President Lynn Pasquerella’s calendar of late shows her involvement in a variety of events, such as advocating for access and affordability to higher education for low-income students, and discussing, on local radio, topical issues related to her background as a philosopher and medical ethicist.
When not involved in those activities or her other duties, she records the introduction and closing to WAMC’s “Academic Minute” program, which features academic researchers from all over the world discussing scientific research and other scholarly topics.
Pasquerella, who took office in July 2010, said she enjoys the variety of opportunities she has to offer input on college-related and other issues, and to provide positive visibility for Mount Holyoke. A number of her activities are off campus.
On Jan. 16, Pasquerella attended a summit at the White House at which higher education leaders and heads of private businesses collaborated to find solutions to making higher education more accessible and affordable to low-income students.
“We need to do a better job at empowering individuals to take a place at the table in higher education. It’s everybody’s responsibility,” she said. “So it was exciting and energizing to work together on this.”
Part of the next steps following the summit include expanding the partnerships Mount Holyoke has with many of the local community colleges that offer those students an opportunity to take classes at the South Hadley campus. Pasquerella, a 1980 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Mount Holyoke, transferred there, in 1978, from Connecticut’s Quinebaug Valley Community College
Pasquerella, who earned a doctorate in philosophy from Brown University in Providence, R.I.,, said she became interested in philosophy when her first class in that subject discussed the fundamental questions of human existence.
“I became fascinated with the relationship between minds and bodies and whether we have souls in addition to bodies,” she said. “I am particularly interested in the practical applications of those questions around end-of-life and beginning-of-life issues.”
Recently, Pasquerella was able to delve into such topics when she appeared as a guest on The Bill Newman Show on WHMP-AM radio. Newman and Pasquerella discussed two right-to-die cases involving brain dead women in Canada and Texas that made recent headlines.
“How do we make those decisions and what are the values that get reflected. And what do these cases say about American’s capacity to deal with death and dying,” she said. “I have long argued that we need a national conversation about death and dying because we regard death as a failure, and so distinctly un-American. So what can we do to view death as a natural process?”
Another radio program that affords Pasquerella an opportunity to promote the value of higher education is when she hosts the “Academic Minute” program, which airs weekdays at 7:34 a.m. and 3:56 p.m. on the Northeast Public Radio station.
“Increasingly higher educational institutions are being called into question, as tuition prices increase and we have burgeoning loan burdens and job prospects for college graduates are uncertain,” she said. “And we have been complicit in our own demise in not articulating what it is that we do and why it is so fundamental to our nation in terms of economic strength and prosperity.”
Pasquerella said she enjoys participating in the program because the minutes highlight the work of scholars on their own campuses and “go beyond the gates to give people a glimpse into what we are doing in the academy and why it matters.”
“We often don’t take time to reflect on the extraordinary work that’s being done in the labs and in the classroom. And as a humanist, as someone who studies philosophy, I’m mindful of the fact that teaching is one of the most significant humanities practices that we can engage in,” she said. “So creating as many vectors as possible is important to bring people into the academy to let them know they deserve a place here.”
Pasquerella also likes to connect with students on campus and has by teaching almost every semester since she took office. This past fall, Pasquerella taught philosophy for children with Thomas E. Wartenberg, philosophy professor. Half the course involved educating Mount Holyoke students on how to teach philosophy to children. In the second half, the students taught local second graders about philosophy. In previous semesters Pasquerella has also taught courses in medical ethics and philosophy of law.
Pasquerella, the mother of twin sons, said she enjoys being in the classroom because she can get a sense of what’s on students’ minds beyond the academic issues.
“I will come in before class and ask them how they’re doing and what’s going on and what they’re concerned about,” she said. “I get that reality testing and touching base with people in the classroom about the broader issues on campus. But I also like to inspire the women here to use their extraordinary talents to meet our mission of liberal learning for purposeful engagement in the world.”