Dear CIC campus leaders,
The charge to college and university leaders issued Monday by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon offers a mixture of common sense ideas, ideological assumptions, and research university priorities. While I know that you will respond in ways that are appropriate for your own institutional setting, I write today to offer CIC’s support for your leadership and to take note of the ways that the letter does not acknowledge the good work that you are doing on your campus and bypasses some of the genuine challenges faced by American higher education.
I do not presume to speak on behalf of your institution. But I hope that you feel supported by my words here and that you find them a useful point of reference as you craft your own communications on this topic.
Here are some initial observations:
- Many of the actions called for in the document are already at the center of CIC institutional culture. Your most recent accreditation report may include language that reflects your institution’s efforts in areas aligned with Secretary McMahon’s questions. You can highlight the longstanding efforts you have made to preserve a culture of dialogue and academic freedom on campus, even during a time of intense political partisanship. The same goes for institutional efforts to provide transparent educational access to talented students no matter their financial backgrounds.
- Your local community partners can be invited into your efforts to make your case. CIC institutions serve their neighbors and community in ways that are visible and meaningful. At our core, CIC institutions measure success not merely by the personal success of our graduates, but by the positive impact those graduates make in local communities, and in the wider world.
- Many CIC members continue to live out the religious or cultural tradition that undergirded their founding. You combine a love for the mind, body, and spirit of each student with a commitment to academic rigor and opportunities for intellectual development. This is a very special part of the American higher education tradition and one that we all have a stake in ensuring continues to flourish.
- Free expression, activism, and protest are intimately tied up with the power of education to expand opportunity. For many CIC institutions these histories include periods of protest and activism that opened the doors to women, Black Americans, and many other individuals who were earlier denied educational opportunities because of the color of their skin, their ethnicity, or the way they chose to worship. Telling these stories with transparency, humility, and pride in each step of progress taken, is an important way our institutions contribute to the American project.
- Career preparation is an essential aspect of what CIC institutions offer. But we do it in a way that is deeply connected to vocational discernment and humane values. We prepare students for meaningful work while also encouraging thoughtful critique and genuine intellectual engagement with big questions and ideas. We are shaping our curricula for an AI-enabled future, and we are encouraging moral and practical reasoning about the role AI and its underlying algorithms and business model should hold in our society. CIC graduates are career ready and ready to lead social change. They can succeed in this broken world, and they will work towards its repair. This is our national, spiritual, and philosophical call to action—our North Star.
None of this is an argument for complacency. I do not know of a single CIC member that is merely treading water. Student-centered innovation abounds in our sector. This creativity should be applauded and assisted by all who care for the future of higher education. This is not a moment for defensiveness or retreat. It is a time for active engagement on behalf of our values and our ability to serve current and future generations of students.
As an organization of strong independent colleges and universities, CIC is purpose built for this moment. We have many services that can support you in making the case for your mission, sharing information about your economic and social impact, and strengthening your business model, campus culture, and ability to serve your mission. Do not hesitate to call on us if we can be of service to you.
With affection and every blessing,
Marjorie Hass
President
Council of Independent Colleges