DEMOCRACY: TOP OF MIND ON CAMPUS

AT THE START OF A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR, and in a climate of ongoing political polarization, the topic of democracy is top of mind on American college campuses.

Amy Parsons, president of the CSU System’s flagship university in Fort Collins, is leading a thematic year of Democracy and Civic Engagement on her campus to highlight the deep connection between public universities and the preservation of our democracy. The year involves a series of robust campus conversations about the responsibility we have – as individuals and institutions – for preparing educated citizens with the knowledge and wherewithal to defend and uplift our democratic ideals.

It’s a theme, of course, that transcends any single year or campus. Since our nation’s founding, we’ve recognized that democracy and higher education are inextricably linked and mutually sustaining.

Ronald Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University and author of What Universities Owe Democracy, said it well: “No truly great university can flourish in a society where the specter of autocratic power sows fear and distrust among its members. That much is clear. But as much as universities are dependent upon strong, vibrant democratic societies to sustain their mission, the question that is less often asked, but equally critical, is, How does the university support the vibrancy of the democracy in which it is embedded?”

This issue of STATE, the magazine of the CSU System, spotlights the state of democracy on campus through various lenses, with the goal of shining a light on how democracy is taught, learned, and experienced – and why it matters. We invite you to join us in this conversation that was central to the founding of our nation and remains absolutely essential to its future.

Tony Frank, D.V.M., Ph.D., is chancellor of the CSU System, which includes Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global.