--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of the university is to make…" description: "\"The purpose of the university is to make students safe for ideas - not ideas safe for students.\" — Clark Kerr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png" --- # The purpose of the university is to make students safe for… ![“The purpose of the university is to make students safe for ideas - not ideas safe for students.” quote by Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png) > “The purpose of the university is to make students safe for ideas - not ideas safe for students.” [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Universities should protect the freedom to explore ideas, not shield students from challenging thoughts. **In simple terms:** Universities protect idea freedom, not student comfort. Key Takeaway Encourage open inquiry. Themes education freedom critical thinking Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom discussions - research projects - public debates - curriculum design Key Concepts Academic liberty intellectual risk Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions protect students while fostering challenging ideas? - What policies best support intellectual risk? A Different Perspective Balancing safety and free expression can be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [He particularly liked about making students safe for ideas, not ideas safe for students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/he-particularly-liked-about-making-students-safe-for-ideas-not-ideas/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [“The use of a university is to make young gentlemen as unlike their fathers as possible. \[“The Power of Christian Young Men”, Address at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-use-of-a-university-is-to-make-young-gentlemen-as-unlike-their/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The purpose of the University of Washington cannot be to produce black lawyers for blacks, Polish lawyers for Poles, Jewish lawyers for Jews, Irish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-purpose-of-the-university-of-washington-cannot-be-to-produce/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Simon Fraser University would make an elegant ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-freschi/simon-fraser-university-would-make-an-elegant-ruin/) Bruno Freschi > [Prohibiting guns on campus made the Virginia Tech students less safe, not more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/prohibiting-guns-on-campus-made-the-virginia-tech-students-less-safe/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Raising parent awareness on how to support their students to be safe, responsible and discerning users of technology continues to be a challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mann/raising-parent-awareness-on-how-to-support-their-students-to-be-safe/) [Susan Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mann/) > [The use of a university is to make young gentlemen as unlike their fathers as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-use-of-a-university-is-to-make-young-gentlemen-as-unlike-their-2/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The university is a series of individual entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance about parking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-university-is-a-series-of-individual-entrepreneurs-held-together/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [The library is…a university of the people, from which the students are never graduated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sharp/the-library-is-a-university-of-the-people-from-which-the-students-are/) Katharine Sharp > [I hadn't been to drama school. 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But not when I left the university. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-i-was-a-sophomore-at-usc-i-was-a-socialist-pretty-much-to-the/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## More by Clark Kerr > [The university is a series of individual entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance about parking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-university-is-a-series-of-individual-entrepreneurs-held-together/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [The United States has, overall, the most effective system of higher education the world has ever known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-united-states-has-overall-the-most-effective-system-of-higher/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [A university anywhere can aim no higher than to be as British as possible for the sake of the undergraduates, as German as possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/a-university-anywhere-can-aim-no-higher-than-to-be-as-british-as/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [If you are bored with Berkeley and San Francisco, you are bored with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/if-you-are-bored-with-berkeley-and-san-francisco-you-are-bored-with/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [He particularly liked about making students safe for ideas, not ideas safe for students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/he-particularly-liked-about-making-students-safe-for-ideas-not-ideas/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [If you are bored with Berkeley, you are bored with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/if-you-are-bored-with-berkeley-you-are-bored-with-life/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [I find that the three major administrative problems on a campus are sex for the students, athletics for the alumni and parking for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/i-find-that-the-three-major-administrative-problems-on-a-campus-are-2/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-status-quo-is-the-only-solution-that-cannot-be-vetoed/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) [Explore all 9 Clark Kerr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) ## More College quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. 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Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [Doing away with separate black colleges meets resistance from alumni and other blacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/doing-away-with-separate-black-colleges-meets-resistance-from-alumni/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [My son going to college is a big milestone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gore/my-son-going-to-college-is-a-big-milestone/) [Frank Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gore/) > [The reason I got into acting was not to explore myself. I was a reader, I didn't care about acting. I got into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/the-reason-i-got-into-acting-was-not-to-explore-myself-i-was-a-reader/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) [Browse all 7,391 College quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The purpose of the university is to make students safe for ideas - not ideas safe for students.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clark Kerr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make-students-safe-for-ideas-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "College" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make-students-safe-for-ideas-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53d/clark-kerr-45284_college_the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make_1642990.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of the university is to make students safe for ideas - not ideas safe for students.” — Clark Kerr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Clark Kerr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The purpose of the university is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make-students-safe-for-ideas-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-purpose-of-the-university-is-to-make-students-safe-for-ideas-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```