Conclusion

Throughout his near twenty years as chancellor of NC State, John T. Caldwell witnessed the school’s transformation from simply a land-grant college to a liberal arts university. He ushered in a new age of collaborative education, proudly speaking of the students and faculty working together to create a better educational environment on campus for everyone. Caldwell encouraged his students to be outspoken in their political beliefs and to participate in their civic duties but reminded them that if they turned the university into solely a political instrument, they would be destroying all that it stood for as a public institution of higher learning. He believed that higher education wasn’t necessarily for everyone but that all education did not take place within the confines of a classroom and that people continued to learn at all stages of their lives. Lastly, Caldwell was of the firm belief that higher education should be available for everyone who wanted to pursue it and that education could help prepare students for solving the world’s problems by teaching them rational thinking, intellectual discipline, and knowledge.[1] He pushed forth all of these ideals during the 1970 Peace Retreat. By working with students like Cathy Sterling and her fellow protestors, Caldwell ensured that students still continued learning from their courses while also fostering a sense of civic-engagement in the students, helping them develop for a world outside the university's walls.