Helping College Students Find Purpose

"A generous and inspiring book! In the spirit of 'convocation,' Nash and Murray call together both university faculty and student affairs professionals to provide them new means for helping more college students realize the highest purpose of higher education—that, in pursuing the means to make a living, one comes to make a meaning worth living for."
—Robert Kegan, William and Miriam Meehan Professor of Adult Learning and Professional Development, Harvard University

"Educators across campuses—faculty and administrators alike—will find in this book not only the importance of helping their students construct meaning upon which to base their academic and life ambitions, but also practical suggestions for doing so. Ultimately, those who will benefit most from this book are students whose education inside and outside the classroom is informed by the type of cross-campus, interdisciplinary approach to meaning-making put forth by the authors."
—Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, executive director, NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

"This comprehensive compendium is a must-read for any higher education professional interested in responding to students' ubiquitous concerns about existential issues concerning purpose and meaning. It brings together classical and contemporary thought, conceptual depth, and concrete suggestions for practice. This scholarship is enriched and enlivened by the authors' personal perspectives and experiences, and by student voices and vignettes. Buy it and keep it handy as a source of wisdom and good counsel."
—Arthur W. Chickering, coauthor, Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education and Education and Identity

"A thoughtful, provocative, moving, yet practical guide for any teacher seeking to make the college classroom a space for inspiration and hope."
—Ruth Behar, professor of anthropology, University of Michigan; MacArthur Genius Award winner; and author, The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart