What universities can do in this age of unreason and untruths

If you haven't yet read "Promoting Knowledge in an Age of Unreason" by Dr. Todd Gitlin, please do it now.  I've mentioned this article before and am directing your attention to it again.  He hits a very important nail right on the head.

"Public reason has plunged into a state of emergency.... When reason itself is so besieged, the university cannot be content to marinate in defensiveness and self-pity.  It is in a fight for its life.  It needs a forward strategy."

What strategy does Dr. Gitlin recommend?

1.  Sponsor ambitious journalism

2.  Stand up for science

3.  Put up billboards

I'm especially attracted to the first recommendation.  As I --- and Bill Maher (see a recent post where I linked his rant) and many others --- have pointed out, the likes of Matt Lauer have sold their "journalist" credentials for the big bucks of Infotainment.  Even the great newspapers are struggling.  With few exceptions, the networks are no longer committed to genuine investigative reporting; they no longer see it as a public obligation.  But, as Gitlin points out, America's universities are well able to fill the gap.

As the title of this Blog reflects, American higher education is struggling to cope with Fifth Wave's disruption.  Many private non-profit schools are struggling with an existential crisis.  Many public institutions are little better off, once state supported and now little more than state located, as a public-sector acquaintance of mine once said to me.  This existential struggle can be darned distracting, as I know from personal experience.

But three important questions occur to me... all being relevant to this post:

1.  If a university is tax exempt and/or state affiliated, doesn't it have an obligation to the state and its citizens to champion the principles of truth, justice, civil rights and civil liberties?

2.  And if it is failing to champion those democratic values, does it deserve to survive?

The most interesting question that occurs to me this morning is:

3.  Can being a champion of these democratic principles actually help save the university?

In future Blog posts, I want to explore this question, because I think it's crucial to our survival strategy in riding the disruption of the Fifth Wave.