At the 2026 Get Engaged Student Action and Youth Leadership Conference. Photo by Tasfiya.
Jonathan Becker, acting president of Bard College and executive director of CCE, published an opinion piece in
Times Higher Education about how institutions of higher learning should remain focused on civic missions. “Of the many current attacks on US higher education, the most damaging might be the assault on the civic mission of universities—their commitment to putting their intellectual and institutional resources in service of the common good, whether local, national, or global,” Becker writes. He stresses that the US has long been a leader in higher education because civic purpose has been at the forefront of many institutions’ approaches, a distinction that is now dwindling. As he assumes the position of acting president, Bard's commitment to a civic mission of expanding access to liberal arts educational opportunities, community engagement, remains paramount. “‘Excellence,’ as universities have long deployed it, has too often been a gate—open to those who already hold the social and cultural capital, closed to those who do not,” Becker writes.
He also cites this year's Get Engaged Student Action and Youth Leadership Conference, which he attended in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in June. In those attending students from 15 countries, including many from across the GHEA21 network that participate in Bard’s global degree programs, Becker saw a cohort dedicated to forming a future of empathetic and ethical leadership, rooted in both academic excellence and community building.
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Post Date: 07-16-2026
