Civitas Outlook
Topic
Pursuit of Happiness
Published on
Sept 15, 2024
Contributors
Benjamin Storey
Jenna Storey
Episode 34

How Universities Lost the Public—and How to Win Them Back

About this episode

This episode was originally published by Heterodox Academy's Out Loud with John Tomasi.

In this episode, we are joined by Benjamin and Jenna Storey, renowned scholars, co-authors, and directors at the American Enterprise Institute’s Program on the Future of the American University. Together with host John Tomasi, they undertake a searching examination of the forces eroding confidence in universities and offer a roadmap for rebuilding their legitimacy and civic purpose.

The conversation draws on the Storeys’ personal journeys through academia, they explore how universities have shifted away from their civic mission, the implications of declining viewpoint diversity, and the urgent need to re-envision liberal education in a polarized era. Their discussion critically engages with recent initiatives, including the founding of university-level Schools of Civic Thought, and emphasizes both the perils and promise of institutional reform amidst increasing political and public scrutiny.

Read the report: “Civic: A Proposal for University Level Civic Education” (AEI, December 2023)

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