Higher Education for the Public Good: Emerging Voices from a National Movement - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787973823 ISBN 13: 9780787973827

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2005

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for Higher Education for the Public Good

"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, university, and 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 the 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

From the Inside Flap

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 evolve
• 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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0787973823
• ISBN 13: 9780787973827
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Kezar Adrianna, Chambers Anthony C., Burkhardt John C.