Universities have historically been integral to democracy. What can they do to reclaim this critical role?

Universities play an indispensable role within modern democracies. But this role is often overlooked or too narrowly conceived, even by universities themselves. In What Universities Owe Democracy, Ronald J. Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, argues that-at a moment when liberal democracy is endangered and more countries are heading toward autocracy than at any time in generations-it is critical for today's colleges and universities to reestablish their place in democracy.

Drawing upon fields as varied as political science, economics, history, and sociology, Daniels identifies four distinct functions of American higher education that are key to liberal democracy: social mobility, citizenship education, the stewardship of facts, and the cultivation of pluralistic, diverse communities. By examining these roles over time, Daniels explains where colleges and universities have faltered in their execution of these functions-and what they can do going forward.

Looking back on his decades of experience leading universities, Daniels offers bold prescriptions for how universities can act now to strengthen democracy. For those committed to democracy's future prospects, this book is a vital resource.

Universities have historically been integral to democracy. What can they do to reclaim this critical role?

About the Author

Since 2009, Ronald J. Daniels has served as the 14th president of Johns Hopkins University. There, he has strengthened interdisciplinary research, enhanced student access, and deepened the university's engagement with the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The coauthor of Rethinking the Welfare State: The Prospects for Government by Voucher and Rule of Law Reform and Development: Charting the Fragile Path of Progress, he is the coeditor of On Risk and Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Grant Shreve is a senior writer in Johns Hopkins University's Office of the President. Phillip Spector cofounded the Peter Gruber Rule of Law Clinic at Yale Law School and previously served as the vice president for strategic initiatives at Johns Hopkins University.

Reviews
This is an exceptionally important, insistently reasonable, delightfully readable book.
-The New York Times
Anyone concerned with higher education's role in the public good, especially researchers and practitioners, will find [What Universities Owe Democracy] well worth the read.
-Higher Education
When the president of a major university publishes a deeply researched, closely reasoned, strongly argued powerful idea and call to the profession to respond to an urgent crisis in our national history, it is highly likely to become a classic in the literature of higher education. Ronald Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University (co-authoring with colleagues Grant Shreve and Phillip Spector), has accomplished that with this new book.
-New England Journal of Higher Education
[A] forceful argument for universities as change-makers. Daniels wants the American university and its graduates to find more ways to challenge power.
-Simona Chiose, University of Toronto, Globe and Mail
Daniels makes an important contribution to not one but two urgent and topical subjects: the weakening of American self-governance and the overall role of higher education in countering that dangerous trend. One hopes that Daniels's sterling academic reputation, and that of his institution, leads to a wide readership.
-Mitch Daniels, President of Purdue University, Washington Post
Ronald J. Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, makes a compelling case that American universities are failing to meet their civic duty.
-Richard Haass, Project Syndicate
Daniels recognizes that the public's willingness to support higher education's democratic mission depends on universities reengaging with the nation-state....Daniels's wager is that the end is not inevitable, that universities can reassert their centrality to the American liberal democratic project. I hope he's right.
-Johann Neem, Public Books
The fraying of democracy around the world that is the key premise of Ronald J. Daniels's important book, What Universities Owe Democracy....Daniels's book does two things that are desperately needed and that make it important reading for anyone working in or adjacent to higher education. First, it shows us how to contextualize the work we do in universities-and libraries, and as researchers and publishers....Second, it offers some direction of travel and an agenda in a moment when both feel urgently needed and in short supply.
-Karin Wulf, The Scholarly Kitchen
[Daniels] offers concrete, actionable and reasonable ideas for how universities can support liberal democratic values and goals. Students of the evolution of the university will learn much from reading this book....Compelling.
-Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed



Book Information
ISBN 9781421442693
Author Ronald J. Daniels
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 612g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 26mm