Higher education must do more than transmit information, it must teach Students how to think, communicate, listen, question, and lead.
That responsibility was on my mind as Allen University recently welcomed leaders to our campus for a conversation with members of our university community. What mattered most to me was not simply the prominence of our guests, but the opportunity it created for our students.
They were able to sit in a room with leaders and hear a conversation about higher education, career preparation, public service, and leadership. They were able to observe, listen and consider how the decisions being discussed today may affect the world they enter tomorrow.
Universities should create more of those opportunities.
This is one reason the work of Allen University's Boeing Institute on Civility remains so important.
Allen University's Boeing Institute on Civility was created to make civil discourse a teachable and practiced skill. We describe the Institute as a place where students, employees, business leaders and members of the broader community can build both theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of civility. Its work is designed to help people navigate disagreement, identify uncivil behavior and participate in thoughtful exchange.
At Allen, we believe our students should be prepared not merely to enter the workforce, but to become thoughtful participants in their communities and professions.
That requires academic knowledge. It also requires exposure to build confidence.
It also requires the ability to engage, respectfully, with people whose experiences and perspectives may be different from our own.
We Want Allen University to be known as a place where meaningful conversations can occur. Where leaders can engage students, where different perspectives can be explored and where our young people can see themselves as part of the future that's being discussed.
Our history gives us every reason to embrace that responsibility. And our students give us every reason to continue.
Dr. Stanley J. Pritchett, Sr., is president of Allen University.
