The Power and the Promise of Public Higher Education

Thank you all for your warm reception and for being here today.

On a day like this, it is important to begin by saying some things very clearly:

First, this is a special university with a great history and tradition, and today we celebrate both its past and its future.

Second, this is a great city and region, and this university is fortunate to be part of a community with such thoughtful and caring leaders.

Third, the future of this university is bright despite the persistent challenges that life inevitably brings.

This university will continue to be great by building on its strengths.

And this university will continue to be the university this region needs it to be, but with aspirations of achieving a higher level of success.

The duty of a great public university

This is Day 81 for me as president.  And what a wonderful first couple of months this has been.

My family and I have visited the zoo, the art museum, and Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens.  We have enjoyed lunch with the Smuckers, thrown out the first pitch at Canal Park, flipped the coin at the Zips home opener, and welcomed the Cleveland Browns and LeBron James to our football stadium.

Every day has been a marvelous opportunity to learn more about this university and the many people who love and care about it deeply.

The question I have been asked most often is this: “What is the future of our university?” My answer is that the future of this university is bright because the foundation – the faculty and staff – is strong and students love their university.

VIDEO: Investiture address and highlights

In addition, the campus is beautiful and welcoming, and alumni speak favorably about their experience at the university and what it has done for their lives.

Then people typically ask, “Will anything change?” I respond that it’s too early to know the specifics of what the future holds, but this we know:  this public university, like every public university in this great nation, is wholly devoted to the preservation and advancement of the American Dream:

The belief that people can rise above the circumstances of their birth.

The belief that people can prosper if they do the right things and work hard.

And the belief that one’s children will do better and live better than preceding generations.

That is the American Dream.

And our duty as a public university is to help make the American Dream possible for as many students as possible.

I am truly grateful for the Harvard universities of the world.  But at this university, we do not aspire to be Harvard.  We aspire to be more than Harvard: we aspire to be a great public university.

A great public university educates the masses—not just the top 10% of the best-prepared students.

A great public university conducts research that solves local problems and builds the regional economy.

A great public university is committed to lifting all people higher—everyone who aspires to live the American Dream.

The power and the promise of public higher education

I sometimes ponder how radically different my life would have been had my grandfather not chosen to attend a great public university.

My grandfather’s father died when he was three.

My grandfather was a refinery worker who aspired to become a physician.  So he left his job at the refinery and moved his family to a town with a great public university.

He enrolled and worked several jobs while attending college.  In the end, his grades weren’t good enough to get into medical school. He had to work too much. But he graduated with a pharmacy degree.

He opened Scarborough’s Drug Store in Baytown, Texas, and successfully operated an independent drugstore for the next 47 years.

By any measure, he was an astounding success.  He became a pillar of his community, and was named the “unofficial mayor” of his hometown.

While he was still alive, he made sure that all his children and grandchildren had a chance to go to college and realize their dreams.  Today you have made his grandson the president of a great public university.

That is the Power and the Promise of Public Higher Education. 

That is the American Dream come true.

And that is the history of this great public university.

This university transforms people’s lives.

This university elevates the region.

This university lifts all people higher and does its best to help everyone realize the American Dream.

Buchtel College, the predecessor of The University of Akron, prepared graduates who went to work in the rubber labs of the first tire companies that emerged in Akron at the end of the 19th century.^[1]

In the 20th century, this university helped the City of Akron become the Rubber Capital of the World.

During World War II, university researchers worked with industry colleagues and the federal government to develop synthetic rubber.  This federal research program was not as famous as the Manhattan Project, but its practical significance to the war effort was second to none.  And this university led and managed that project for the federal government.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Throughout its history, a steady stream of Akron’s citizens have marched toward their realization of the American Dream through the halls and classrooms of this university.

Refinery of minds

The university’s seal, which hangs above this stage, is a reminder of its great history.

In the lower left quadrant of the shield is the lamp of learning set against the city skyline. It speaks not only of our metropolitan location, but also to our role in the region—to share the light of learning with all those who seek it.

It represents the strength of our teaching and research in so many fields, but especially our contributions to polymer science and engineering, which helped to light a path for Akron out of the economic darkness of the 1970s and 80s.

In the opposite corner of that shield is an open book and quill. It represents our founding as a liberal arts college and the power of higher education to transform eager students into professionals and responsible citizens.

This university is not a vocational school, nor is it a certification factory: it is a refinery of minds.

Thomas Jefferson said, “The basis of our government (is) the opinion of the people.” ^[6]

I would argue that the transformative power of higher education—the ability to think critically and communicate effectively—is more necessary today than in Jefferson’s time.

In his day, citizens were fed just a trickle of information and news.  Today, we are continually bombarded by waves of opinions and dubious facts in the midst of important and truly useful information.

How do we as citizens of a democratic republic determine what is true and what is not if not for the transformative power of higher education?

Can our nation endure without a highly educated electorate and decision-makers?

John Adams wrote: “the whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people, and must be willing to bear the expense of it.” ⁷

Let me repeat that last phrase: “…and must be willing to bear the expense of it.”

Previous generations of Americans accepted this public necessity and obligation for the good of the nation.

However, since 1987, state governments across this nation have cut funding for public higher education from an average of $10,000 per student to $6,600 per student.⁸

As a result, tuition and fees have risen as well as student debt and loan default rates.

How much more are we willing to allow the expense of public higher education to shift from “the whole people” to individuals and families hoping for a better life?

If we continue to permit it, higher education will drift beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, beyond the reach of people like my grandfather, and with it, I fear, goes the American Dream.

The 'best universities'

U.S. News and World Report would lead us to believe that the “best universities” are those that admit only the top 10% or less of their applicants.

I believe, however, the best universities are not those that admit the fewest.  The best universities in this country are those that give the most students the best chance at the American Dream—the chance to earn a college degree and live a more fulfilling life. 

The best universities are those that conduct impactful research that advances the region’s economic development.

The best universities are those that live and breathe innovation and the advancement of social justice both here and around the world.

Those are the best universities.

Under my care, I pray The University of Akron will remain committed to educating the whole people and making our world a better place—for everyone.

Under my care, I pray The University of Akron will conduct research that makes a real difference in people’s lives—here and abroad.

I ask you to join me in this noble work.

I believe all things are possible

And I believe teamwork is the key to everything.

Together, we will take this university to higher ground—to “akros”—to the outermost limits of what this university can do and become.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve this great university.

Thank you for being here today.

And thank you for believing in the Power and the Promise of Public Higher Education.

Footnotes

1. Ong, Ambassador John Doyle. “From Hevea to Eternity.” University of Akron. John S. Knight Center, Akron, Ohio. 4 May, 2009. Keynote Address.

2. U.S. Synthetic Rubber Program. ACS Chemistry for Life. Link.

3. Hempstead, Colin; Worthington, William. “Encyclopedia of 20th Century Technology. “Synthetic Rubber.” P. 779. Link.

4. Bowles, Mark D. “Chains of Opportunity: The University of Akron and the Emergence of the Polymer Age 1909-2007. P. 48. Link.

5. Rubber Matters. Chemical Heritage Foundation. Link.

6. “Thomas Jefferson Letter to Edward Carrington, Jan. 16, 1787.” Founders’ Constitution, Vol. 5, Amendment I, Doc. 8. The University of Chicago Press. 1987. Link.

7. “John Adams Letter to John Jebb, Sept. 10, 1785.” Founders Early Access. The University of Virginia Press. Copyright 2009-2014. Link.

8. Trends in College Pricing 2013. p14, Figure 14B. Trends in Higher Education Series, College Board. Link.