By MATTHEW BOEDY
Last month I encouraged faculty to put democracy on the syllabus.
In that post, I wrote: “No one is coming to save us. We all have to do this together.”
To further that call, I urge faculty now to put democracy in the community.
AAUP unions and advocacy conferences do a lot in state houses around the nation. But lawmakers are not the only stakeholders faculty need to persuade. If indeed no one is coming to save us—and some are actively trying to end higher education—then we need to do more with as many supporters as we can.
My availability may not be yours, and my teaching load may not be shared by all. But chapter leaders, those in disciplines in need of more public support, and anyone who can succinctly explain the public good of higher education need to find more community audiences.
We have always had our student success stories given wide applause. And some have always had research breakthroughs to publicize. Now we need faculty of all types to make a case for what all of us do. Yes, your individual awards, graduate student lineage, and classroom moments are important. But speak to audiences on a wider scope.
In short, you need to campaign for higher education in 2024.
You have seen the town halls on CNN, the retail politics of Iowa and New Hampshire splashed on your news feeds. Find ways to match that. Without the candidate awkwardness, of course.
The stump speech should be clear: democracy is on the ballot, and higher education is the space for democracy. Public colleges and universities—especially because they are supported by tax dollars—need to meet head on their falling reputations among wide slices of the electorate by pushing those voters to understand the role higher education plays in our democracy. (Private schools can promote their roles in forming citizenry too.)
We can leave economic impact and individual legacy claims to the marketing departments. But what faculty can do—what they are best at—is arguing for our national need for quality education, investments in research, and the unique nature of higher education that gives us both.
You are your community’s expert in the latter.
Don’t leave this kind of campaign to your administration. They are fundraising. You are not looking for that.
And certainly don’t leave it up to the voices on the political right who will fill any vacuum.
I’m not asking you to do something I am not willing to do. This spring I am giving a series of lectures geared toward public audiences that center on higher education.
In February I am speaking to a group in Arizona (by Zoom) about the threats posed to higher education and beyond by Turning Point USA. In March I will be part of the AAUP state conference meeting in Louisiana, where faculty now work and live under a new highly conservative governor who has already bullied LSU to turn against diversity efforts.
In April I will be heading to Emory to speak on how faculty organizing benefits students. And also in April I will be doing a three-part lecture series for an audience of “active adults over the age of 50” as part of a program funded by a local private institution in my city, Brenau University. I aim to persuade them that they are the future of higher education.
Different audiences. And that means different rhetoric. To some I am preaching to the choir. To others I will be a welcome guest but unknown to many. And to others, I think I will be assumed akin to those college presidents they see on TV being berated by Congress.
You may not think you have the experience or training for this. I have no more expertise or prior experience than you. I got into faculty organizing because of a single issue I cared about. And now I ask you to do the same. Find one element of what makes higher education great and let the electorate know.
No one is coming to save us. We all have to be all in for all of us. That is what democracy in the community is all about.
Contributing editor Matthew Boedy is the Georgia AAUP president and professor at the University of North Georgia. He is on Twitter or X @matthewboedy.
