Higher Education for the Public Good

This important book explores the various ways that higher education contributes to the realization of significant public ends and examines how leaders can promote and enhance their contribution to the social charter through new policies and best practices. It also shows how other sectors of society, government agencies, foundations, and individuals can partner with institutions of higher education to promote the public good. Higher Education for the Public Good includes contributions from leaders in the field—many of whom participated in dialogues hosted by the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good. These leaders are responsible for creating successful strategies, programs, and efforts that foster the public’s role in higher education.

Preface xiii

About the Authors xxiii

Part One: Exploring the Public Good 1

1 The Special Role of Higher Education in Society: As a Public Good for the Public Good 3
Tony C. Chambers

2 Challenges for Higher Education in Serving the Public Good 23
Adrianna J. Kezar

3 Creating a Metamovement: A Vision Toward Regaining the Public Social Charter 43
Adrianna J. Kezar

Part Two: Public Policy and the Public Good 55

4 State Governance and the Public Good 57
David Longanecker

5 Listening to the Public: A New Agenda for Higher Education? 71
David Mathews

6 Trusteeship and the Public Good 87
Richard Novak, Susan Whealler Johnston

7 The Public Good and a Racially Diverse Democracy 102
Denise O’Neil Green, William T. Trent

Part Three: Cross-Sector Issues and the Public Good 125

8 Liberal Education and the Civic Engagement Gap 127
Carol Geary Schneider

9 The Disciplines and the Public Good 146
Edward Zlotkowski

10 Scholarship for the Public Good: Living in Pasteur’s Quadrant 166
Judith A. Ramaley

Part Four: Institutional Governance and Leadership for the Public Good 183

11 Integrating a Commitment to the Public Good into the Institutional Fabric 185
Lee Benson, Ira Harkavy, Matthew Hartley

12 Rethinking Faculty Roles and Rewards for the Public Good 217
Kelly Ward

13 Institutional Differences in Pursuing the Public Good 235
Barbara A. Holland

Part Five: Individual Leadership for the Public Good 261

14 Leading the Engaged Institution 263
James C. Votruba

15 Preparing Doctoral Students for Faculty Careers That Contribute to the Public Good 272
Ann Austin, Benita J. Barnes

16 Let Us Speak: Including Students’ Voices in the Public Good of Higher Education 293
Stephen John Quaye

17 Presidential Leadership for the Public Good 308
Martha W. Gilliland

Part Six: Concluding Thoughts on the Public Good 315

18 Creating Dialogue: A New Charter and Vision of the Public Good 317
Adrianna J. Kezar

19 Pondering the Social Charter: Critical Reflection for Leaders 326
Tony C. Chambers

Name Index 331

Subject Index 337

"One cannot help but develop some of the authors' optimism after reading this book." (Journal of Higher Education, Spring 2006)

The Editors

Adrianna J. Kezar is associate professor at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Understanding and Facilitating Change in the 21st Century from Jossey-Bass.

Tony C. Chambers is senior fellow at the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good and faculty in the Program on American Cultures at the University of Michigan.

John C. Burkhardt is professor of higher and postsecondary education at the University of Michigan and is director of the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good.

Higher education creates a better society not only by preparing individuals for economic and civic life, but also by protecting values fundamental to a changing democracy. At the very heart of the enterprise is an important but elusive principle that higher education exists to serve a larger sense of the “public good.” How then, can we stem the recent erosion of this cherished ideal and maintain the United States’ status as the premiere system of higher education in the world?

This important book explores the various ways that higher education contributes to the realization of significant public ends and examines how leaders can promote and enhance their contribution to the social charter through new policies and best practices. It also shows how other sectors of society, government agencies, foundations, and individuals can partner with institutions of higher education to promote the public good. Higher Education for the Public Good includes contributions from leaders in the field—many of whom participated in dialogues hosted by the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good. These leaders are responsible for creating successful strategies, programs, and efforts that foster the public’s role in higher education. Higher Education for the Public Good covers a broad range of topics and includes

• A description of the significance of the social charter between higher education and society and how it has evolved
• Information about three sustained ideals—civic education, public service, and partnerships and collaboration—that can be combined to create a powerful national movement
• Ideas for fostering communication related to public needs and conducting dialogues within a community, state, and region
• An examination of how academic disciplines can support and embrace a vision of the public good
• A review of four strategies for institutionalizing a commitment to the public good
• Suggestions for individuals to foster leadership within their institutions

This comprehensive resource offers information and inspiration for all those concerned with advancing higher education’s civic role in the United States and beyond. "This carefully researched and thoughtful book adds insights critical to better understanding the twenty-first century issues and challenges dramatically reshaping the social charter between higher education and society. It is a call for a national dialogue that will serve as bedrock for strengthening the increasingly fragile relationship between society and institutions of higher education. College and university, as well as governmental leaders will find the multiple perspectives assembled in this book a practical and timely resource in exchanging views about the public trust and the reciprocal relationships between society and institutions of higher education."
--Lou Anna Kimsey Simon, president, Michigan State University

"In face of new social and economic challenges, Higher Education for the Public Good raises important questions and thought-provoking suggestions about how we might adapt our academic offerings and outreach efforts while remaining true to our first principles in a manner that ensures accountability, fosters trust, and preserves and sustains the social compact with our citizens."
--Molly Corbett Broad, president, University of North Carolina

"This timely and thoughtful book explores the ways a university, public or private, can and should be a public good: educating future citizens, preserving the cultures of the past and laying the groundwork for the future, making discoveries that change the world, and engaging with its many constituencies and communities on the critical societal issues of the day. This collection is a must-read for anyone who cares about higher education."
--Nancy Cantor, chancellor and president, Syracuse University

"If you care--and worry--about American higher education and its leadership role in our society, then read this book. It does not answer tough questions with simplistic formulas; however, thanks to an outstanding set of authors, it will provoke you to think hard about important issues that need strenuous debate as we work for sensible educational policies that promote the well-being of our nation. Such a debate will serve the public good by challenging us to think both within and outside of the academy."
--C. Peter Magrath, president, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges