<p>In academe Chicago has always been regarded as America’s intellectual powerhouse. The pursuit of knowledge above all else through rigorous inquiry has been what sets it part from almost all other universities. I believe this view was stated best by Robbert Pippen who was on the presidential selection committee. I have posted it before, but it is worth doing again.
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<p>This is what should not be lost. As JHS mentioned earlier, a school’s culture is an interaction between its history, faculty, and the type of student it seeks to attract. Over the last few years Ted O’Neill did a very good job of upgrading the admissions message and increasing applications with great dignity and respect for what Chicago stands for and its perhaps singular role in the world’s elite colleges. At the same time Dean Boyer greatly improved student life. This, coupled with the move to the common application, is the likely reason for this year’s continued increase in applications.</p>
<p>Recently Zimmer has restated the University’s mission:
We can only hope Zimmer means it, and that the new admissions team understands that students need to recruited who truly want to be part of that mission above everything else.</p>