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Alexander Meiklejohn | |
|---|---|
 Meiklejohn sometime before 1912 | |
| Born | (1872-02-03)3 February 1872 Rochdale,Lancashire, England |
| Died | 17 December 1964(1964-12-17) (aged 92) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Education | Brown University (BA,MA) Cornell University (PhD) |
Alexander Meiklejohn (/ˈmiːkəlˌdʒɒn/; 3 February 1872 – 17 December 1964) was an English-born American philosopher, university administrator, educational reformer, andfree-speech advocate, best known as president ofAmherst College.[1][2]
Alexander Meiklejohn was born on 3 February 1872, in Newbold Street,Rochdale,Lancashire, England. He was of Scottish descent, and the youngest of eight sons. When he was eight, the family moved to the United States, settling inRhode Island. Family members pooled their money to send him to school. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees atBrown University, graduatingPhi Beta Kappa, and completed his doctorate in philosophy atCornell in 1897. At Brown, he was a member ofTheta Delta Chi.[1][2]
In 1897, Meiklejohn began teaching at Brown. In 1901, he became second dean of the university, a position he held for twelve years.[1][2] The first-year advising program at Brown bears his name.[3] From 1912 to 1923, Meiklejohn served as president ofAmherst College.[1][2] His presidency ended with his forced resignation for trying to apply his reforms, and thirteen students refused their diplomas that year in protest.[1]
Although he was offered the presidency of other colleges, Meiklejohn proposed to open a new, experimental liberal arts college. He was unable to develop adequate funding for creating an entirely new school, but he was invited byGlenn Frank, new president of theUniversity of Wisconsin, to create theUniversity of Wisconsin Experimental College there, which ran from 1927 to 1932.[1][2] He retired from the University of Wisconsin in 1938, having already moved toBerkeley, California.[4][5] He was a cofounder of the School of Social Studies in San Francisco,[1] anadult education program focusing on "great books" and American democracy.[2] In 1965,Ann Fagan Ginger, an American attorney and activist,[6] founded an institute to advance human rights and peace law through legal research, education, and advocacy, and named itMeiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute (MCLI),[7] with Meiklejohn's permission. In 1945, Meiklejohn was a U.S. delegate to the founding meeting ofUNESCO in London.[1]
Meiklejohn died at age 92 on 17 December 1964, inBerkeley, California.[1][2]
Meiklejohn was known as an advocate ofFirst Amendment freedoms and was a member of the National Committee of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).[8] He was a notable proponent of the link betweenfreedom of speech and democracy. He argued that the concept of democracy is that of self-government by the people. For such a system to work an informed electorate is necessary. To be appropriately knowledgeable, there must be no constraints on the free flow of information and ideas. According to Meiklejohn, democracy will not be true to its essential ideal if those in power are able to manipulate the electorate by withholding information and stifling criticism. Meiklejohn acknowledges that the desire to manipulate opinion can stem from the motive of seeking to benefit society. However, he argues, choosing manipulation negates, in its means, the democratic ideal.[9]Eric Barendt has called the defense of free speech on the grounds of democracy "probably the most attractive and certainly the most fashionable free speech theory in modern Western democracies".[9]
Meiklejohn's 1948 article, "Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government," was cited byJustice Breyer in a concurring opinion forNixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 US 377 (2000).
Meiklejohn was a supporter of theFair Play for Cuba Committee.[10]
TheAmerican Association of University Professors (AAUP) established the Alexander Meiklejohn Freedom Award to honor his work.[1] He received the Rosenberger Medal in 1959. Meiklejohn was selected byJohn F. Kennedy to receive thePresidential Medal of Freedom, which was presented byLyndon B. Johnson shortly afterKennedy's death.[1]
Meiklejohn has been honored with a number of programs or institution named after him, including theMeiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute (MCLI) in Berkeley. The Meiklejohn Advising Program is Brown University's advising program for incoming first-year students. Meiklejohn Advisors (known as Meiklejohns or Micks for short) are student advisors who are paired with each first-year, along with a faculty advisor, to provide academic advice and help the transition to college.[11] The University of Wisconsin–Madison's Meiklejohn House (home to the Integrated Liberal Studies program) continues to espouse the ideals of Meiklejohn's experimental college by engaging students in interdisciplinary liberal education.[1]
Meiklejohn Hall at theCalifornia State University, East Bay, houses many of the school's liberal arts programs.[12] The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was deeply influenced by Meiklejohn's pedagogical philosophy during its founding and maintains many of his central principles today.[citation needed] Meiklejohn Fellows Program at Amherst College is a unique program reserved for first-generation and/or low-income students. The program provides dedicated advising, programming, peer-to-peer support, and summer internship funding.[13]
Meiklejohn wrote books from 1920 to 1960:
Media related toAlexander Meiklejohn at Wikimedia Commons| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President ofAmherst College 1912–1924 | Succeeded by |
