A decade of budgetary, policy, and ideological contention has resulted in American universities being run by management models and the nation is seen by some to have lost its vision of the public good and the necessary components of a democracy. This work seeks to redress these trends.

Prominent scholars in this book move boldly beyond critique to show how and why the critical functions of a democratically informed civic education (not merely professional training) must become the core of the university's mission. They show why higher education must address what it means to relate knowledge to public life, and social responsibility to the demands of critical citizenship. Moreover, they show why democratic forms of education and various elements of a critical pedagogy are vital not only to individual students, but also to our economy and our democratic institutions and future leadership.