Nearly every first-year college student discovers that college courses are more academically challenging than they expected, and certainly harder than classes in high school. Professors expect students not just to absorb material, but to analyze and synthesize it, to consider multiple perspectives, to evaluate conflicting evidence, and then to apply what they’ve learned in new contexts.

Thinking Critically in College explains how to do all this and more.

In this groundbreaking book former Dean of Academic Advising and Associate Vice Provost at Stanford University Louis E. Newman draws on his extensive experience working with students with a wide range of interests and varying levels of academic preparation. Written in a personal, engaging style, Thinking Critically in College is an indispensable guide to college success for students from all academic backgrounds.

Grounded in decades of experience, built around real-life examples of college assignments, informed by the latest research into learning, and shaped by student experiences in the classroom, Thinking Critically in College is an invaluable resource, not only for those in college or headed there, but for everyone who needs a refresher on thinking clearly.

Louis E. Newman has been thinking, teaching, and writing about Jewish ideas for over 35 years.  One of the country’s leading scholars of Jewish ethics, his most recent book is Repentance:  the Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah (Jewish Lights 2010).

He is also the author of Past Imperatives:  Studies in the History and Theory of Jewish Ethics (SUNY Press, 1998) and of An Introduction to Jewish Ethics (Prentice Hall, 2005).  He has also co-edited, with Elliot Dorff, two anthologies, Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality(Oxford University Press, 1995) and Contemporary Jewish Theology (Oxford University Press, 1999).   He is co-editor (with Elliot Dorff) of three volumes in the Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices series (Jewish Publication Society, 2008/09) that address contemporary moral issues from a range of Jewish perspectives.

Newman is Dean of Academic Advising and Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University.  Prior to joining the staff at Stanford, he served as the John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Professor of Religious Studies, Associate Dean of the College and Director of Advising at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.  From 2010-2013 he served as the Humphrey Doermann Professor of Liberal Learning and the Director of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching.  Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, he received his B.A. in philosophy and Hebrew and his M.A. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota.  He received his Ph.D. in Judaic Studies from Brown University in 1983.  He had a long career as a widely respected teacher and mentor at Carleton from 1983-2016.

He has been a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Religion, Association for Jewish Studies, and Academy for Jewish Philosophy.  He was the first president of the Society of Jewish Ethics, an organization he helped found.  He has also been actively involved in the educational programs of several community organizations.   He serves on the International Council of the New Israel Fund.  He served as president of the board of directors of the St. Paul Talmud Torah from 1994-96, and as president of the board of Beth Jacob Congregation (Conservative) from 2009-11.

He consults on academic advising, as well as issues of learning and teaching in higher education.  A faculty member for over thirty years, he brings a wealth of experience to discussions of pedagogy, curricular innovation, institutional change and faculty development. He is currently working on a book, How to Think Like a College Student.

He also works as an ethics coach for individuals and organizations.  In this capacity, he provides guidance on how to address ethical issues and to foster moral development.

Newman is married to Rabbi Amy Eilberg.  Together they have three children with whom he loves to travel.  He still gets his fingers dirty reading the New York Times print edition every morning.