Nearly 100 presidents met with a score of high-level foundation officers in New York City on March 21 for CIC’s annual “Conversation Between Foundation Officers and College and University Presidents.” Participants this year explored the theme of “Making the Case: The Liberal Arts College’s Role and Responsibilities in a Democratic Society.”
    The meeting, held again at the TIAA-CREF Conference Center/ Wharton Auditorium, focused on how colleges can increase and strengthen civic engagement (i.e., community volunteerism, political involvement, and the acquisition of skills, attitudes, and dispositions that are essential for responsible participation in the democratic process) by students and how foundations can help in that effort.
    Speakers included Leslie Lenkowsky, chief executive officer of The Corporation for National and Community Service; Gara LaMarche, vice president and director of U.S. programs for The Open Society Institute; Eugene Lang, chairman of the E.M. Lang Foundation and founder of Project Pericles; and Richard Guarasci, president of Wagner College and author of Democratic Education in the Age of Difference: Redefining Citizenship in Higher Education.
    Among the questions addressed: What are the appropriate roles of faculty members, trustees, and administrators in informing students about civic engagement, and encouraging students to think critically about our democratic institutions? To what extent should foundations be concerned with, and support by way of grantmaking, specific content changes in a college’s curriculum so as to foster civic engagement? Will the “virtual campus” erode civic participation, or enhance it among students? How can foundations interested in strengthening civic engagement use liberal arts colleges and universities as resources? How can liberal arts colleges and universities work with foundations to strengthen and foster civic engagement? Is there a distinctive role for faith-based colleges and universities in helping to “make the case” about civic participation in a democratic society? And is it necessary for colleges and universities to incorporate a values and ethics component into their educational processes?
    The core of the program consisted of the exchange of ideas and sharing of perspectives between presidents and foundation officers about such issues. In announcing the meeting, CIC President Richard Ekman said “the annual meeting between presidents and foundation officers serves a dual purpose: it provides opportunities for the philanthropic community to learn more about the interests of CIC colleges and universities, and for college and university presidents to hear about the interests and perspectives of philanthropic foundations.”
    For more information about the meeting, visit the CIC website (click here).

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Last updated: March 2003
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