Held during the academic year 1989-1990, the Great University Seminars was a series of six presentations by Dr. John Warfield on the subject of Higher Education, each of Warfield's discussions to be followed with an invited response from GMU administrators or faculty. The purpose of the series was "to explore the concept of what would constitute a great university, and how such an institution might be established." This series was a joint project of Warfield's Institute for Advanced Study in the Integrative Sciences and the GMU Communication Department headed by Prof. Don Boileau. The six responding speakers were all prominent faculty members or university administrators. The Series ended with University President Dr. George Johnson as the final speaker in April 1990. (For a video of Dr. Johnson’s talk see “Leadership & the Great University.”  SEE ALSO " 'Great University Seminar No. 6: Leadership & the Great University,' which is a typed transcript of his talk) 

Warfield's abstracts, discussion outlines used as handouts became part of the six volume set titled "Education Papers by Warfield" issued by Warfield's Institute in 1996. The original handouts, done by Warfield in 1989, were WordPerfect drafts now in Warfield Special Collections at Fenwick Library along with miscellaneous other papers collected from the seminars. Special Collections has no saved documents of the responding lectures by the guest speakers, but there are audiotapes of their talks, and one videotape. Special Collections also has a few typed transcripts of the live seminar sessions derived from the tapes; they are stored in Box 24, Folders 21-26 at Fenwick Library.

LIST OF THE SIX INVITED SPEAKERS AT THE SEMINARS: 1) 18 Oct. 1989: "Professional Schools & the Great University" with Dean of the Business School Coleman Raphael; 2) 30 October 1989, "Five Images of the University" with Prof. Anita Taylor of Communication Department; 3) 27 Nov. 1989, "University Infrastructure & Interdisciplinary Work" with GMU's Provost Dr. Clara Lovett; 4) 14 Feb 1990 "Designing the Great University" with Robinson Prof. Dr. Harold Morowitz of Biology Department; 5) 7 Mar 1990 "The University College and the Great University" with Dean of Arts & Sciences Dr. Paula Lewis; 6) 18 April 1990, "Leadership and the Great University" with GMU President George Johnson. R.w. 21 Sept 1999. updated 14 March 2007 updated again 12 Oct 2012

Please note that six years later Warfield authored another paper with a similar title: "The Great University: A George Mason University Faculty Seminar (1995)." HIs 1995 paper had no connection to this 1989-1990 series other than the fact that Warfield’s tenure at GMU was notable for his continued support of academic efforts to revise and upgrade the overall quality of higher education in the U.S.