My Soul of Academia
In 1971, sociologists Willam and Sherry Maesen lamented that the culture of customer (read: students) is always right has taken over the traditional virtues of education such as academic competence and high intellectual standards. In 2009, journalist Chris Hedges observed that we have been made to believe education is about achieving success in monetary terms rather than learning to think critically and to challenge. The point of education, he adds, is to make minds and not (just) careers.
I believe that Malaysian business schools should include a mix of Practice Academicians and Scholarly Practitioners to complement the school’s Scholarly Academicians. As a young MBA student (20 years ago), I wished that the faculty was made up of more Practice Academicians and Scholarly Practitioners. I FEEL THAT I CAN FILL THE GAP, AND That is the reason why I joined A business school.
I see myself as a guide in the educating process. It is not about feeding my students with information or data but helping them turn these materials into knowledge that can be applied in their daily lives, not just in their careers. To achieve these ideals, I believe in upholding the soul of academia, WHICH, in my view is integrity in academic liberty. With integrity comes morality.
Integrity is not just confined to honesty. It defines honour, of an individual, of the institution they represent, and of the knowledge they develop and share.
Without integrity and morality, there is no honour, respect is lost, and knowledge, no matter how ground-breaking, will have very little legitimate value. Without integrity and morality, there is no soul.
Liberty is the freedom, to think, to rationalise, to decide and to form opinions. Liberty comes with responsibilities, as freedom is not without its moral obligations to society and to God almighty. Hence integrity is central to liberty.
As a guide in the educating process, I must uphold the virtues of academic competence and excellence. Knowledge acquisition cannot be biased, as biasness will lead to unhealthy practices, the distortion of truths, misinformation and ultimately, the destruction of knowledge itself as it loses its purity.
I will allow freedom of thought and expression but will not compromise on morals and intellectual standards. We are free to express but we should never abuse the freedom to distort facts and mislead the less-informed. Morality is central to soul of academia, with it, critical thinking will be guided towards the right path.
The soul of academia guides my actions, it keeps me rooted and aligned to the principles of integrity, morality and liberty in my academic pursuits and endeavours.