Defending the value of universities

It's more effective to defend the work of each institution than to defend nebulous concepts

“What would you say… you do here?”

The bad guys are doing their darndest to dismantle all the public and private universities and colleges in the country.

When they’re attacking institutions like the NIH, NSF, CDC, NOAA, NASA, all the rest, then yes, we need to defend the value of scientific research. I think our community has been up to the task, though I would admittedly like to see more marches in the streets, general strikes, public shamings of the malefactors, and so on.

I think we’re not doing as well when it comes to defending the value of higher education and universities in general. When they emptily accuse us of indoctrination, groupthink, and the lack of viewpoint diversity, it’s easy to laugh. While we can counter this silliness with lengthy factual explanations, we need to keep in mind that (according to Fisher Ames), “Falsehood proceeds from Maine to Georgia, while truth is pulling on his boots.” They can Gish gallop against universities, and by engaging in this silly debate, we let them set the terms of the discussion.

Instead, we need to point out all of the amazing, important, and valuable stuff that colleges and universities do. Instead of getting lost in the generalities, it’s far more effective to tell stories from personal experience and focus on the actual impact of your own institution.

This means all of us have a different script from one another, and there is no single kind of university. Every place is different and every institution has different kinds of local, regional, and global impacts. Here I’ll share what I think are some major categories of university impacts. I think all institutions have these impacts to some extent or other, but clearly some kinds of institutions have their strengths. Leaning into those strengths, with specifics, is how we can communicate our value.

Providing resources and talent for critical needs in the region. A lot of places have a shortage of healthcare workers, teachers, tech professionals, and such. You know how people get ready to do serve us in these roles? They go to college. While not all social needs require college graduates to serve in those roles, regions are more prepared to meet emerging challenges when they have more people who have graduated from college.

Expertise when crisis emerges. Universities have scholars who have become experts who are prepared to deal with new and unexpected challenges. Academic researchers identified and have been working on the problem of climate change driven by fossil fuels long before we had a public recognition of the scope of this challenge. Academic researchers are working to connect the dots between gun control, intimate partner violence, and mass shootings. Academic researchers have figured out how to evacuate planes as quickly and safely as possible. How to keep cities cool during heat waves, what economic policies promote a stable middle class, how to build cities resilient to hurricanes and floods, how to respond when crops fail to prevent a famine.

Economic development. The average income of people who graduate from college is higher than those who don’t. Moreover, in low-income communities, college provides access to social mobility and the increase in earning potential is greatest among those who come from low-income families. You know how California is one of the strongest economies in the world? This is widely attributed to the state’s heavy investment into access for free higher education, in which the UC system was extremely affordable and the CSU campuses were essentially free. Graduates from these campuses were powering California. Every dollar invested in the CSU system was returned sevenfold to the state. This is hugely true for community colleges and regional public universities.

Scientific and technological progress. For too long we’ve allowed industries to take the credit for societal progress, when in fact basic research conducted in universities, often supported by federal funding, is responsible for developing the entire foundation of this work.

Functional democracies. It’s no accident that the authoritarians leading the US government are working to dismantle universities, because we provide for the maintenance and growth of effective government that represents the interests of the people. Education is a tool for liberation. Universities allow us to understand and interpret our past and make sense of the present, and plan for a better future. Universities prepare people to detect disinformation, provide a venue for the free exchange of ideas, and work against the oppression of people because of their identity.

Environmental protection. For those of us with access to clean water, rivers that don’t burn, non-acid rain, and food that isn’t fully of pests or pesticides? All the the regulation supporting that work is built on academic research, and the people who keep protecting the environment were trained in higher education.

What else goes on this list? What can you say about your particular institution and how it contributes to people in a very specific way?