By Dr. Stanley P. Caine, President

American higher education has always served both the private and public needs of a growing society. It has been a means through which generations of men and women of all backgrounds have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to live well and improve their economic status. At the same time, it has contributed to the broader national interest, preparing graduates who can help to build and maintain a vibrant economy, strengthen communities, convey knowledge and proper values to the next generation, minister to the sick and needy, produce works that edify and inform.

There is a growing concern in some quarters that, in recent years, we have narrowed our vision of the proper role and responsibility of higher education, emphasizing the private advantages of college attendance and downplaying its significant public roles. Writing in the May 30 issue of “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” Robert Zemsky, one of the most authoritative voices in higher education, laments that “today colleges and universities are seen principally as providing tickets to financial security and economic status.”

I share Zemsky’s concern. When describing the value of college, perhaps to justify its rising cost, we are most likely to cite the differential in earnings between high school and college graduates. In search of larger enrollments, frequently colleges and universities create programs and instructional arrangements that fit the interests and conveniences of its “customers” with little attention to the broader ideals described in their institutional mission statements. Responding to this marketplace definition of the value of college, many states have diminished their level of support for higher education, apparently satisfied that the consumers who are buying this product should pay a larger share of its cost.

Zemsky calls for “a reaffirmation of the principle that the American university is an educational asset that can powerfully serve not only private, but also public, purposes.” In my judgment, there are at least two important implications of this appeal. We must keep alive the ideal of higher education as a means for social mobility, a way in which all those with the necessary talent and desire can improve their station in life. That means that we must insure that the resources are available to allow students of limited means to enroll in college.

We should also expect colleges and universities to embrace the ideals of producing good citizens and instilling right principles and attitudes, including a love of learning, an enhanced appreciation of the diverse cultures that enrich our world and a commitment to serving others. We should not sacrifice these values to a definition of higher education that includes only the private benefits. The continuing strength of our society depends upon it.

Dr. Stanley Caine