The American Democracy Project: Civic Engagement for Citizens in the 21st Century A Cooperative Project of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), The New York Times, and AASCU Member-Institutions

Project Goals

The goal of the project is two-fold: to focus attention, for both institutions and the public, on the civic value of college; and for participating institutions, to graduate students who engage in meaningful civic actions.

This project uses Tom Ehrlich's definition of civic engagement: "Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes"

"A morally and civically responsible individual recognizes himself or herself as a member of a larger social fabric and therefore considers social problems to be at least partly his or her own; such an individual is willing to see the moral and civic dimensions of issues, to make and justify informed moral and civic judgments, and to take action when appropriate." Thomas Ehrlich (Ed). Civic Responsibility and Higher Education. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 2000.

Need for the Project

For some time now, commentators and critics have noted a decline in the degree of civic participation and engagement in American life. Decreased levels of voting, reduced levels of voluntarism, and even less time spent on activities with neighbors have all been cited as examples of the decline in civic engagement of this new age.

For example, in a 1987 poll of baby boomers, 77% said that the nation was worse off because of less involvement in community activities. Fifty percent of Americans in 1996 felt that we were becoming less trustworthy. In a 1999 survey conducted by Hart & Teeter, 68 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds reported that they felt disconnected from government.

There is a growing sense of unease that something is fundamentally wrong in American society, that we have lost the sense of community that unites a nation. Ironically, in this age of hyper-connectivity with instant and global communications, commentators and scholars lament the loss of a sense of community, a sense of connectedness.

This new Age of Technology, despite its innovations, is accompanied by a growing sense of disconnectedness. Robert Putnam, a key scholar of this issue, notes that far too often, the old patterns of community and neighborhood have given way to separateness and isolation. Bridge clubs, community groups, and even casual neighborhood associations are all losing members. We are increasingly, in Putnam's memorable title, bowling alone. The danger is that our collective loss of association creates problems both for our society and for our democracy.

At the precise moment in our history when immigration is swelling the number of Americans of different ethnicities and cultures, technology, work and other factors are separating us as neighbors and citizens. For a new generation of Americans, community and neighborhood groups, associations, and organizations used to serve, along with the public schools, as agents in inculcating democratic values and ideals, linking citizens from different backgrounds and perspectives, creating a sense of collective commitment to one another, in order that we as Americans could live together effectively as neighbors, and as participating citizens in a great democracy.

The concern about a decline in civic engagement is not simply a wistful look backwards, nor is it a nostalgic yearning for a simpler time. The loss of sense of community, and the concomitant commitment to act in support of that community, reduces the effectiveness of the community to accomplish collective goals. Furthermore, it creates a downward spiral of opportunity: a reduction in groups and organizations diminishes opportunities for citizens to act for the collective good.

Putnam describes the loss of participation as a loss of "social capital," a loss of the social networks that affect the productivity of individuals and groups. In the early years of our nation, an astute observer of America, Alexis de Tocqueville, noted that associations create positive effects on participants: "feelings and ideas are renewed, the heart enlarged, and the understanding developed only by the reciprocal action of men one upon another." Organizations and groups become places where people who are different interact, where forums allow ideas to be discussed and debated, and where democratic skills - running meetings, speaking in public, writing letters, and taking a position on the issues of the day- are learned.

But perhaps the greatest loss our declining civic engagement poses is the threat to our democratic institutions. At the beginning of the 20th century, John Dewey wrote that "democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience." Putnam argues that "the performance of our democratic institutions depends in measurable ways upon social capital." His study of democratic government in Italy found that regions with high levels of social capital provided a very supportive environment for democratic institutions, while regions with less social capital fared less well. Similarly, Putnam found that in the United States, individual states with high levels of social capital developed more innovative public policy. "Politics in these states is more issue oriented, focused on social and educational services, and apparently less corrupt.

Preliminary studies suggest that states high in social capital sustain governments that are more effective and innovative." A task force of the American Political Science Association put it succinctly: "…current levels of political knowledge, political engagement, and political enthusiasm are so low as to threaten the vitality and stability of democratic politics in the United States" (APSA Task Force on Civic Education in the 21st Century, l989).

The American Democracy project rests on a core belief…that civic engagement is critical for the preservation and vitality of American democracy. Benjamin Franklin, more than 200 years ago, reminded us of democracy's fragility. Upon exiting the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Franklin was approached by a group of citizens; they asked what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer: "A republic, if you can keep it."

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What Can We Do?

The civic engagement activities of another era may be just that…activities of another era, ones not likely to be replicated in this new age. While we may lament the passing of an era, we should not try to reproduce it. Indeed, we may not be able to reproduce it in its former shapes and patterns, no matter how much we might like to. The new century before us, and this new age of technology, will produce new forms of association, new ways to organize and build communities. Yet for this American democracy to survive and flourish, new forms of civic engagement must be created, if old forms are not to be reproduced.

The concern about loss of civic engagement is not nostalgia for the past but a concern for the future. Universities and colleges have tried to respond to this concern by a variety of strategies, including adding experiential education activities in the curriculum, especially for first year students.

Today many institutions are actively involved in experiential education, service-learning, and a host of other community-involving activities. Yet despite the important work underway on many campuses, a recent report confirms the need for even more attention to this issue. Higher education's performance for the most part has fallen short of fostering an engaged citizenry.

Despite pockets of extraordinary activity and a growing commitment to service learning, recent evidence indicates that today's college graduates are actually less engaged in the civic life of the nation than were preceding generations. NCPI's Collegiate Results Instrument (CRI), which looked at graduates six years after they received their baccalaureate degrees, documented just how seldom recent college graduates have worked on political campaigns, engaged in communitarian activity, or translated their commitment to social justice into action (Beyond Dead Reckoning: Research Priorities for Redirecting American Higher Education. Patricia Gumport et al. Stanford: National Center for Postsecondary Improvement, 2002).

Project Description

The Project on Civic Engagement will bring together 100 AASCU colleges and universities that will focus on civic engagement. Funding for the project will provide a modest grant of $10,000 per campus. This funding will be used to support the campus conversation, provide some limited travel support, and perhaps fund the first civic engagement project. While campuses, particularly now, need support, we have found that a modest amount of funding, with national support both for the project and local fund-raising efforts, can assist a large number of campuses to be involved in meaningful ways. The remainder of the grant funds will be used to provide national programming, such as national teleconferences, a national communications network, and national conferences and materials.

The project will be divided into four phases:

Phase One: Design Phase. Phase One will involve project design, concept development, identification of participating institutions, the commitment of presidents and chancellors, and support of chief academic officers. The design phase began in February 2002 and will continued through summer 2003, involving presidents and chancellors, chief academic officers, faculty and students. AASCU national meetings for presidents/ chancellors, and AASCU national meetings for chief academic officers, along with special invitational meetings, are being used to support the planning process. AASCU will supported the provosts by devoting the entire Summer 2003 meeting for chief academic officers, that took place in early August in Utah, to the theme of Civic Engagement and the launch of this project. The summer meeting was used to identify key readings and concepts, develop theoretical and conceptual frameworks, and design practical strategies that chief academic officers could use to launch a series of campus conversations with faculty.

Phase Two: National Conversation. Phase Two will involve a year-long national conversation among participating institutions and on each campus. On campuses, the focus on civic engagement will be established by the president or chancellor. Then on each of the 100 participating AASCU campuses, the chief academic officer will convene a group of at least 20 faculty members on each campus to engage in a year-long conversation. On some campuses, the group may include student affairs professionals and other university staff, and on some campuses may also include students.

Each campus will determine the make-up of their national conversation group. The conversation will be divided into two parts. During the first semester and part of the second semester, the conversation will focus on the concept of civic engagement, and will involve readings and a set of discussions, with key questions. The campus conversations will be facilitated by the national steering committee that will provide suggested readings and key questions.

During the first semester, AASCU will conduct three satellite broadcasts, using national scholars and speakers, who will address some of the concepts being discussed. Campuses can use the broadcasts in real time when schedules permit, but will also be able to record these broadcasts for future discussions, or download from the national website. The campus conversations will also be supported by perspectives from other campuses, provided by the project staff as they build a national network. The purpose of the initial conversations is to build a shared theoretical and conceptual framework, prior to beginning campus projects.

The second semester conversation will focus on designing and developing civic engagement projects on each campus, again facilitated by the national steering committee, AASCU and The New York Times. The Winter 2004 meeting of the chief academic officers will be devoted to a focus on project ideas, to provide chief academic officers with the ideas and possibilities as they turn the campus conversations from theoretical frameworks to project design and implementation. In addition, AASCU will provide one interactive satellite broadcast during this semester that addresses issues of project design and implementation, as well as a variety of print media, and connections to established groups and organizations that can be of assistance.

Phase Three: Project Implementation. In Phase Three, a two-year period, campuses will implement projects locally designed during the national conversation. Coordination support and assistance will be provided through the national steering committee. The initial funding of $ 10,000 per campus provided through the grant can be used to provide support for a limited initial project, as well as support the year-long national conversation. However, campuses will be expected to develop long-term local funding support, through public and/or private support, to ensure long-term continuity and sustainability. Campuses will be encouraged to use the Civic Engagement national project as a lever for raising funds locally.

The theme of civic engagement will provide opportunities for study and reflection on unique features of American democracy, especially within courses in history, political science, and literature. Students in the program will be expected to participate in engagement activities in the local community, and to discuss their experiences in post-activity seminars, linking civic engagement and service learning. Students in the project will have assignments that require them to communicate with other first year students at other AASCU institutions across the country on matters of contemporary interest. Student writing will be required in this project, and shared across participating campuses. Outstanding examples of writing will be posted on The New York Times web page The New York Times will operate a web site and conduct web casts for students, connecting project participants to national journalists and speakers.

Phase Four: Dissemination. AASCU will compile and report collective statistics on project designs, number of students involved, and successful strategies that will then be disseminated to all 430 AASCU member institutions. The New York Times will support the dissemination effort with national reports on best practices and innovative approaches. A book of best practices will be compiled and edited from the participating campuses.

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Unique Features of This Project

The leadership of the president or chancellor: For civic engagement to become established as a goal of an institution, the leadership of the president or chancellor is critical. While presidents and chancellors are increasingly required to address issues away from campus, their commitment and support is critical for the development of institutional goals and directions. Yet the project also recognizes that the daily work of implementation cannot be expected of the campus leader, so the project links the commitment of the president or chancellor and the work of the chief academic officer.

The leadership of the chief academic officer: Far too often, civic engagement has been a symbolic commitment of a campus, not fully realized by campus participants, especially faculty. In other cases, individual faculty have been involved in their own projects but those projects do not become campus priorities. This project will ask the chief academic officer, as the appropriate and natural academic leader of the campus, to establish civic engagement as a campus priority, creating an active faculty group to design and carry out local projects and programs. The project will also provide professional development and support, critical for many chief academic officers who do not have a background in this subject area.

A focus on faculty: A key to institutionalization is not only to look at mission statements and institutional commitments, but to focus on faculty as the key agents in institutionalization. With the rapid retirement of the faculty workforce that was hired in the 1960s, many campuses are witnessing a 50% or 60% turnover in a matter of 4 or 5 years. A new generation of faculty has to engage in a deep and substantive conversation about civic engagement before they begin projects with students or incorporate civic engagement content in their courses. In addition to directly working with faculty, the project will also ask participating campuses to examine hiring practices, to ensure that they reflect the commitment to civic engagement. Promotion, tenure, and reward structures must be designed to foster support for civic engagement. Professional development programs must be put in place to address both the theory and practice of civic engagement. Without a clear focus on faculty, and the creation of support systems for them, this project will not succeed.

A focus on leadership: This project will focus on leadership at every point in the sequence. Presidents and chancellors will examine how to best provide campus leadership on this project. Chief academic officers will be engaged in leadership training and development to help them to be effective in working with faculty. Faculty will be consciously considering leadership issues to assist them as they design programs and projects for students. And programs and projects will consciously incorporate leadership perspectives and strategies for students.

Unique set of institutions: This project will focus on public colleges and universities that belong to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). These institutions have been called the "American dream" institutions, for many of them educate the less affluent, from families who have not had previous members going to college, as well as immigrants, and students transferring from community colleges. Many of the new generation of students coming to college in the next decade will come to AASCU institutions, and many of these students will be first generation college-goers. Many AASCU institutions often educate those who do not go far from home, despite the fact that AASCU institutions also have robust international programs and students from many other states. However, because of the nature of the majority of their students, and because of their focus on economic development, these institutions are more closely tied to their local communities. Finally, AASCU institutions educate almost 2/3rds of the new teachers hired in America's public schools each year, so this project will have an impact beyond the students themselves, as graduates from these institutions work with children in America's public schools.

Coordination by a national presidential association: The project will be coordinated by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), a presidential association of 430 public institutions in the United States, representing more than 3.4 million students. Having a national association, with the attention of university presidents and chancellors, managing this project will ensure widespread campus involvement. The association will use the extensive networks of presidents/chancellors and chief academic officers, the national meetings scheduled each year, and the publications of the association to carry out this project and disseminate its results.

A unique national partner, a national newspaper: The project will be supported by a partnership with The New York Times. The Times will be integrated throughout the project, as contemporary America is best portrayed through newspapers. Students on participating campuses will read The Times as part of their activity in building an understanding of contemporary events. In addition, The Times will use its resources to link far-flung and sometimes remote campuses together in a national conversation, and will provide journalists and commentators as part of that conversation. The Times will also use its national "voice" to disseminate project ideas and promising practices, to publicize the work of the project, and to challenge the public perception that college has only vocational benefits.

A national conversation: Presidents, chief academic officers, faculty and students will be linked together between campuses as the project moves forward, allowing ideas to flow freely from campus to campus, as well as among faculty and students on each campus. This national conversation will also allow good ideas and best practices to be widely disseminated, both through The New York Times and through the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).

A project of scale: Most civic engagement projects involve one or a few courses and a limited set of faculty members. This project reaches an enormous number of campuses, chief academic officers, faculty and students. The scale of the project is unprecedented.

Attention to assessment: This project will seek the best measurement tools and devices available anywhere. Participating campuses will agree to measure their learning outcomes, and share the results with others, so that the entire network of 100 institutions can learn together.