This week I have been writing about how community is lacking and highered can fill the void.
Last week I read After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew Up Our Politics―and How to Fix It by Bunch! It was great timely book! This book blew mind! It was very similar to many of the arguments that I independently made in my book Sustaining Colleges and Universities through Community.
Bunch discusses how the GI bill lead a higher education revolution and expansion in the USA after WWII and that led to our current idea of what a college and/or university is. Then he discussed how major events affected and were affected by higher education, leading right up today. He stressed the political divisions and how the loss of community have led to this moment where highered is broken.
By the end of the book, I was foaming at the mouth waiting to hear what his recommendations were. Bunches conclusions are interesting and macroscopic. And I agree with him. He takes the approach that highered is crisis – so this is time for a major reinvention. He recommends
(1) A College New Deal – that provides a major increase in investment and reimagining of highered for the 21st century.
(2) Universal national service program for 18 year old high school grads to build common ground across the country, and give young people opportunities to mature before college.
I wholeheartedly agree with these recommendations. I am officially joining the support team.
When I wrote Sustaining Colleges and Universities through Community, I never even considered these choices. I am so jaded by the ability of society to do what’s right and actually get things done right now. The top of our society is also broken. We live in a “Greed is Good” society. Even when a politician or a lawyer looks like they are doing a good thing, I worry that there are evil lobbiests lurking around every corner trying to find ways to screw over the average Joe.
My approach is to not wait for government to clean up its act – Trump is literally our current president – He doesn’t even hide the fact that he is corrupt and leans into it.
The people who work at colleges and universities (professors and staff) are the most interested in making the academy successful. We should fix it. We should just attack the problem of community head on and not wait around for anyone else to fix it. It is one of the most pressing problems we face today and every professor can take actions to improve the situation.
When we are there for society connecting deeply with the people who live there, we are strengthening our case for existence. Not on Wall Street or Washington but on Main Street and the street you live on. This is how small and regional colleges and universities survive the onslaught and add value.
Ignore everything that is happening at Harvard and Columbia. It is important of course, especially for everyone involved in those schools. But both schools are going to survive and thrive. The real action is happening on main st. And if those colleges go out of business, you are going to feel it in your schools and your town hall – I promise.
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