Turning out statesmen is Cedar school's goal

Reading thousands of pages of classical literature may come across as a hefty reading assignment, but for students at a small, nonprofit university in Cedar City, it's pretty normal.

George Wythe University focuses on graduating statesmen and citizens ready for action in future classrooms, communities and homes. The only thing missing is a nod from an accreditation agency, which the school is earnestly working to obtain.

Hundreds have already reserved a table for Saturday night's fundraising gala at the Capitol featuring rising star radio host Glenn Beck and aimed at helping George Wythe University earn a spot on academia's map.

Not only is a sizeable endowment required for accreditation, but according to George Wythe President Andrew Groft, it could give students even more of an incentive to forgo traditional classroom-style learning for an education based on the five pillars of statesmanship, which the fledgling school delivers in the form of reading, discussing and writing about classic literature.

"The founders of our country felt, and we feel, that we cannot maintain a democratic society without an educated populace," Groft said, adding that a degree in statesmanship allows students an opportunity to "learn how to think instead of what to think."

George Wythe is one of Utah's smallest schools, with enrollment hovering around 150 this year. Students spend countless hours in the campus library, and even more time at home reading Aristotle, Galileo, John Locke, Montesquieu, Tocqueville and W. Cleon Skousen.

"I fell in love with the idea that there were people out there who talk about the books I like to read," said Jessica Pinkston, a senior studying statesmanship. "Not only are they good books, they're good ideas."

Pinkston, of California, plans to apply to law school and knows that her degree may not be recognized by some of the schools she approaches, but she feels she has the education to be "more than mediocre."

"You read about people who had done all these great things, and who are we not to do great things in our time?" she said. "It's not about learning the facts. It's about becoming something."

Brigham Young University literature professor and dean of undergraduate education Madison Sowell said he was impressed after visiting the campus last year as part of a peer review for the American Academy for Liberal Education, an accrediting association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for schools teaching liberal arts. He said that students at George Wythe exhibited a dedication and zeal for learning and an enthusiasm for the ideals they were reading about.