The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good

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Higher Education for the Public Goodtrack of the overall point of the endeavor,” says Charles W. Anderson in Prescribing theLife of the Mind.What would it take for American higher education to revitalize its commitment tothe public good? Given the forces raised against the academy today — the spread ofmarketplace values, rapid advances in technology, sweeping demographic changes, andcompetition from new for-profit and “virtual” providers — is service, outreach, andengagement still a relevant and viable mission? And what practical steps might be takentoward restoring the bond between higher education and public life?<strong>The</strong>se questions served as the focus for a series of <strong>National</strong> Leadership Dialogues convenedby the Kellogg <strong>Forum</strong> on Higher Education for the Public Good in the spring of 2002.Over a six-week period, a group of distinguished academic leaders from across the countrycame together in Maryland, California, and Minnesota to reflect on the challenges andopportunities facing higher education today.<strong>The</strong> California gathering — the second in the series — was held at the Mandalay BeachResort in Oxnard, May 8-10, 2002. Hosted by Alexander Astin and Helen Astin,professors of education at the University of California, Los Angeles, the event broughttogether an impressive group of over sixty people, including college and universitypresidents, provosts, deans, faculty, graduate students andassociation representatives along with a handful of foundationexecutives and legislators.Whereas the first dialogue examined practical strategiesfor revitalizing the academy’s public service mission fromthe vantage point of two key stakeholders, the public andgovernment, the California dialogue focused on the role ofconstituencies within higher education — academic leaders,faculty, administrators, students, and others — in building andstrengthening a movement for change. <strong>The</strong> discussion began byexploring the idea of the public good. <strong>The</strong>n, in a series of sharplyfocused breakout sessions, participants explored how this ideacan be interpreted and applied by the different members of theacademic community. Finally, the group discussed how individual“<strong>The</strong> issues we arestruggling with in highereducation are problemsof consciousness . . . . Weneed to begin to examineand reflect on our sharedbeliefs in a very seriousand studied way.”— Alexander AstinProfessor, Higher EducationUCLAengagement efforts — within departments, institutions, and professional networks — can bebrought into alignment to promote broad change throughout the system of higher education.Alexander Astin noted at the outset of the gathering that while there are numerous reformefforts already underway in higher education, the academy still has a long way to go before6
Educating for the Public Goodit can claim to be genuinely committed to the task of renewing and revitalizing public life.Many of the most intractable problems in higher education stem from an academic cultureoverly preoccupied with the advancement of private interests at the expense of the publicgood, he said. What is needed is a willingness to embrace significant changes in practicallyall aspects of academic life, from curricula and teaching practices to reward systems andcommunity relations. Above all, it requires a willingness to reassess institutional valuesand beliefs. “<strong>The</strong> issues we are struggling with in higher education are problems ofconsciousness,” he told the group. <strong>The</strong>se problems are rooted in “the shared beliefs thatimplicitly drive so much of what we do in academia. It seems to me that we need to beginto examine and reflect on these shared beliefs in a very serious and studied way.”Helen Astin underscored the point, urging the group to reflect deeply about teaching,research, and service as a calling, not simply a profession. All too often, she said,academics discuss the need for change at the level of ideas but fail to engage their passions.Revitalizing the public service mission will require that academics think deeply about howtheir work fits into a broader social context. It will require honesty, open-mindedness and awillingness to embrace real change.7
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Page 3: CONTENTSIntroduction 5Defining the

The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good

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