Andrew Delbanco will give a public presentation, “What Is College For?” on Wednesday, October 30, 6:30–7:30 p.m., in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, University Park. It will also be broadcast online at live.libraries.psu.edu. Dr. Delbanco is currently the Mendelson Family Chair of American Studies and Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University.

A high-profile speaker and prolific author, Delbanco was awarded the 2011 National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama “for his writing that spans the literature of Melville and Emerson to contemporary issues in higher education.” His most recent books are “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be,” (Princeton University Press, 2012) and “The Abolitionist Imagination,” (Harvard University Press, 2012).

In 2001, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and named by “Time Magazine” as “America’s Best Social Critic.” In 2003, the New York Council for the Humanities named him New York State Scholar of the Year; in 2006, he received the “Great Teacher Award” from the Society of Columbia Graduates; and in 2013 he was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society.

The presentation is free and does not require pre-registration and is sponsored by Penn State’s Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, the University Libraries, Schreyer Honors College, and Center for the Study of Higher Education. On Oct. 31,2013, Dr. Delbanco is participating in the Schreyer Conference on General Education. For more details on the Schreyer Conference, visit http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/schreyerconference2013 or call 814-865-0282.

For more information or if you anticipate needing accessibility accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Deirdre Yingling at deidre@psu.edu or 814-865-0282, during normal business hours.