Project Intro

Since joining the American Democracy Project in 2003, the faculty, staff and students of the University of Central Oklahoma have participated with enthusiasm and focus. We have incorporated the Project into our classes, our institution and our community. This commitment is reflected in our academic mission of “Helping students learn so that they may become productive, creative, ethical and engaged citizens;” in our long term goal of “Engaging all students in leadership, research and creative activities, and service learning activities;” and in our core value of “Cultivating community involvement and civic engagement.”

Now that the ADP is present on 210 AASCU campuses UCO takes great pride in being one of the earliest adopters of the Project. You can get a taste of that commitment by clicking your “back” button and looking at the other items on the page.

As I write this, UCO just held “American Democracy Day 2006” and 30 ADP projects, either underway or completed this past year, were highlighted. At the banquet, where there were over 80 registered, a panel of faculty and a representative of the New York Times, Mr. Adam Cohen, discussed “The Constitution and our Civil Liberties.” It was a lively discussion concluding with questions from the audience.

The story goes that in 1787 while leaving the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government he had given to the people. He is said to have responded “A republic sir, if you can keep it.”

We cannot know what Franklin was thinking. Did he mean it would require military might, diplomatic influence, or an informed populous? Or, was he suggesting a combination of initiatives?  For those of us in higher education Franklin’s meaning matters little because what we can provide to maintain the republic is restricted to educating citizens.

What we do know from sources such as Bowling Alone is that citizens with the skill and the will to do what it takes to preserve democracy have dwindled to the point where many of us are barely engaged. Oh sure, we volunteer as before at soup kitchens and other support agencies during disasters. These acts are important and provide critical help to individuals in immediate need.

I question, however, if these activities represent the totality of engagement with the civic and political processes needed to maintain and improve our system of government.

Could we not be training students to work toward solutions that might someday render soup kitchens unnecessary?

At the poster session UCO demonstrated what we are doing to prepare students for a lifetime of civic engagement. As an institution we are no longer at the beginning of this effort but we do represent the early adopters of this new movement to enrich the dimensions of our students’ learning experiences.

Recognizing that we have not agreed among ourselves about the mission, vision, values and long term goals, the UCO American Democracy Project will begin a facilitated effort to define itself. This will strengthen our voice and sharpen our message. It will also help us know where we need to concentrate our energies and to understand what we must begin doing and what we need to stop doing in order to reach our agreed upon goals. We will need to consider the best ways to link what we are already doing in the classroom to new and innovative actions. For example, a recent article in the Council of Undergraduate Research Quarterly describes how students at Towson University have been able to link undergraduate research with civic engagement.

More institutions are adopting civic engagement and service learning curricula while at the same time they are growing undergraduate research, creative and scholarly activities. Here is an opportunity for UCO to connect the two and make simultaneous progress toward both parts of our academic goal.

For faculty, staff and students already involved, I encourage you to provide opportunities for others to learn from you by giving workshops at Faculty Enhancement Day this fall and presenting at other venues such as Regional Research Day or the new Undergraduate Research Conference next December.

Finally may I suggest that the American Democracy project is not about a specific political party or interest group, rather that political engagement is the most important element necessary to maintain our democracy. I further argue that the ADP is not necessarily about patriotism either. Some of our very most engaged social, civic and political leaders have been, in fact, described as anything but patriots.  Think of Martin Luther King Jr., think of those who peacefully opposed the Vietnam War as unjust, think of Rosa Parks or think of the Minutemen of the Revolutionary War who were considered terrorists by some of their neighbors.

It is up to us to help our students, colleagues and community understand that peaceful and respectful methods used to affect societal norms or disagreeing with the platform of a political party is not unpatriotic but, in fact, in keeping with what is best about our country and our democratic process. Our challenge is to help students and the greater community learn and practice acceptable methods of disagreement, appropriate and non-violent action, and respect for those with different beliefs.

This is a tall order but the faculty, academic leadership and students of UCO have committed themselves to cultivating community involvement and civic engagement as we help students learn.

Bill Radke
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs