Why should Duquesne University organize Darwin 2009: A Pittsburgh Partnership?
« Go Back In the past we have been questioned as to why we hold a Darwin Day at Duquesne University. This year, we are organizing Darwin 2009: A Pittsburgh Partnership. Why should a prominent Catholic University do this? For several reasons: 1. Universities exist to explore ideas and to further knowledge. The fundamental role of the University is one of exploration and sharing of ideas. Perhaps one of the best definitions of what a University is was provided 150 years ago by the noted Catholic theologian, John Henry Cardinal Newman: “If I were asked to describe as briefly and popularly as I could, what a University was, I should draw my answer from its ancient designation of a Studium Generale, or “School of Universal Learning.” This description implies the assemblage of strangers from all parts in one spot; – from all parts; else, how will you find professors and students for every department of knowledge? and in one spot; else, how can there be any school at all? Accordingly, in its
