Civic Engagement and Higher Education

Derek Bok, president emeritus of Harvard University and author of The Struggle to Reform Our Colleges, calls for a comprehensive effort on the part of colleges and universities towards building a more civically-minded generation of Americans in his recent Chronicle of Higher Education article. In “Crisis of Civic Education,” Bok suggests that developing more opportunities for college students to become civically-engaged, “could help bring about higher levels of voting, a more knowledgeable electorate, and a more accountable government, while encouraging more graduates to become active in politics and public affairs.”