Agent of Democracy - Society for College and University Planning

Agent of Democracy
actively participate in self-government, if they want to keep
their republic.
So to ask whether higher education should have a civic mission
in the true sense is to ask whether it should take an active
role in preparing students for
“It seems to me that
all research-scholars
could benefit from grappling
seriously with the
civic import of their own
research agendas.”
(“The Civic Roots of
Academic Social Science
Scholarship in America,”
HEX, 2000.)
citizenship, active participation
in self-government. Today, many
institutions of higher learning no
longer have a civic mission in
this sense.
While they may serve public
purposes by preparing students
for participation in society at large,
preparation for active civic or political
participation is not necessarily
a part of higher education. For
example, my own university does
not have an explicitly stated civic
mission, although it strives to “prepare students to address the
complex issues facing them in society and to discover meaning in
their own lives,” as well as to “encourage diversity” and “serve
the needs of the student body.” If asked whether the university
serves civic purposes, the administration would no doubt say that
it does: It prepares students to contribute to the world as informed
and productive “citizens” (read: individuals), no matter what field
of employment they pursue. But this vision does not entail any
particular responsibility for participation in the practices of selfgovernment.
While educating students is certainly an important service to
society, an increasing number of folks within the academy believe
that higher education could do more to instill in students the importance
of civic participation in particular, which is needed in order
for democracy to work as it should. That is, if democracy requires
more than just an arena in which individuals can pursue their own
interests and if citizenship involves more than just expressive individualism,
then what does higher education need to do? If democratic
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