New Book: Values of the University in a Time of Uncertainty, edited by Paul Gibbs, Jill Jameson & Alex Elwick

This book:

  • Addresses issues related to trust, compassion, well-being, grace, dignity and integrity in the context of higher education
  • Emphasizes the worthiness of moral values in higher education alongside the pursuit of value for money
  • Offers an interesting context for the creation of an obligations-led university of the future

This deliberately wide-ranging book addresses issues related to trust, compassion, well-being, grace, dignity and integrity. It explores these within the context of higher education, giving existential and empirical accounts of how these moral duties can be expressed within the academy and why they ought to be. The chapters range from values used in the marketing and management of institutions to their realisation in therapeutic and teacher training spaces. The book opens with a specific introduction which positions the work and outlines the context of duties and obligations at play. This is followed by two distinct but related sections including chapters on theoretical issues, organisational practices and personal praxis. The first part is more abstract and theoretical, the second locates the values discussed within the practices of the university. In doing so the book encompasses a wide range of issues from multidisciplinary and geo-political regions. The authors are a mixture of world-leading authorities on values in higher education and earlier career researchers, who are nonetheless equally passionate contributors. This mix gives the book vibrancy and offers insight which appeals to

both an academic and managerial readership.