An interesting shift began in the 2010 survey with the economic downturn, with the recognition of the rising complexity of the world of work. The result, in subsequent surveys, was a desire on the part of business leaders to have colleges and universities prepare graduates not just for entry level positions but for advancement. The need for graduates to demonstrate a capacity for innovation has resulted from the tumultuous times we have experienced over the last decade. As a result, institutions of higher education must again pivot towards more fully emphasizing an integrative education that includes interdisciplinary learning, multicultural literacy, collaboration skills, and information literacy. Significantly, such a shift would prepare students not only for their professions, but also for civic agency and lifelong learning—for a life of engaged, purposeful, and passionate fulfillment of their being. And, if institutions of higher education are going to make a shift away from silos and disciplines and hierarchies, the leadership of these communities must follow suit, to become more democratic, to elevate shared governance and shared leadership, to embrace multiple cultures and communities, to model our values not just in the classroom but across the university. And as we do so, we must also remember that we are about more than the professional preparation of our students. We are about so much more. Indeed, institutions of higher education are the bedrock of a vibrant and high functioning democracy. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education assembled a National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. Their report, A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future , noted that “The completion of postsecondary education and the acquisition of 21st century critical thinking skills in the liberal arts and sciences are an economic necessity as well as a social imperative. To fulfill America’s promise in our global society, our educational system at all levels, from early learning through higher education, must serve our nation both as its economic engine and its wellspring of democracy” (v).
Pillar Two: Civic Engagement
The motto of our great nation, e pluribus unum , translates as “out of many, one.” It seems to me that we have forgotten how to weave our desire for individual rights into the fabric of our communal responsibilities. Indeed, it seems we have forgotten that the very source of our individual rights is the foundation of this great nation: our democracy, which calls us to engage and participate but also to accept that my own personal predilections may not carry the day, that because I am tied to something much bigger, much greater than my own whims and desires, I must participate in what is best for my community. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman, growing concerned at the large number of veterans returning home from the second world war, commissioned a study of higher education. The commission determined that higher education should bring three things to all Americans: Page 5
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