1 9 2 D O C U M E N T 2 0 1 M A Y 1 9 2 8 201. To the Academic Council and the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University Berlin, 29 May 1928 Dear Sirs, I greatly regret that my weakened state of health does not allow me to participate in this year’s sessions of the academic council and the university’s board of trustees.[1] I believe that the decisions that are now to be made will be of fundamen- tal importance for the university’s future development, and I would therefore con- sider it my duty to participate in your discussions if the state of my health did not forbid me to make the long journey to England. Therefore I would like to take the liberty of conveying to you, at least by letter, my views regarding the main points on the agenda. The problem of the relation between teaching and research at the university will no doubt be central to your discussions. I have carefully studied the report, so rich in ideas, that was prepared by the committee that was created at the last session to examine this question, and despite initial hesitations, I have arrived at the convic- tion that a gradual transition to providing instruction for beginners as well is not incompatible with the principles that we considered decisive for the structure of the university, so long as we adhere to three conditions clearly formulated in the report:[2] 1. that instruction for beginners will not be undertaken in any department of the university before a certain scientific level has been achieved through intensive re- search in collaboration with advanced assistants,[3] 2. that admission requirements for the university courses will be established in such a way that only students who have the ability and the will to do scientific work will be accepted and the factorylike production of mere diploma-holding academ- ics will be absolutely precluded,[4] 3. that training courses would be offered only in departments for which profes- sors and lecturers of university rank are available at the university that, on the other hand, filling teaching positions with instructors not sufficiently qualified for university teaching (senior lecturers, et al.) would be radically eliminated.[5] However, the observation of these absolutely essential conditions will be possi- ble only if the academic administration is led by a person who is competent and guided, precisely in matters of principle, by unbending convictions. For this reason and above all in the interest of the fruitful development of the university as a whole, I consider the suggestion contained in the committee’s report, namely, the appoint-
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