The general level of health increases along with education, as do civic involvement, support for the arts, and per-capita income. We may forgive Gilman his heady optimism. But read as a statement of moral imperative rather than as a prediction, his words are compelling. Universities should take leading roles in organizing our social institutions to address the persistent and growing gap between rich and poor. First, almost all of the nation's community leaders, elected officials, and professionals are prepared for their work by colleges and universities.
Higher education is the training camp for the haves.
Second, although most university presidents today shudder at Gilman's moral imperative it complicates the fundraising, lobbying and athletic entertainments that occupy much of their time higher-education institutions have embraced an authoritative stance as preservers and transmitters of the best that has been thought and said. They are home to thoughtful critics of society. Their faculties remember where we have been and understand the current dimensions of our human predicament better than other institutions. The public colleges and universities of our nation serve more than 80 percent of the Americans enrolled in higher education. Governors and state legislatures are demanding that these institutions be accountable for their performance.