Bridging Purpose and Practice: Diverse Campus Models Advancing the Public Purposes of Higher Education

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

2:00 PM - 3:15 PM East Coast USA Time

Location: Howard University - Level M1

Primary Presenter(s)

Catherine Copeland

Director of Campuswide Immersion
Institute for Citizens and Scholars, United States

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Co-Presenter(s)

Mark Allman

Senior Advisor to the President and Managing Director of University Initiatives and Innovation
Montclair State University, United States
Kristi Clemens

Executive Director of the Dialogue Project
Dartmouth College, United States
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Vince Greer

Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs for Dialogue and Diversity
Claremont McKenna College, United States
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Ty Nagamatsu

Ombudsman
Colorado College
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Derigan Silver

Faculty Director of Freedom of Expression and Pluralism Initiatives, Office of the Chancellor
University of Denver, United States

This session will offer a powerful blend of theory and practice, demonstrating how the public purposes of higher education can be advanced even in complex, resource-variable institutional contexts. The health of our democracy and the sustainability of its institutions ultimately depend on the civic culture that has surrounded them—a culture of free inquiry, robust testing of ideas in the public square, and respectful engagement with those who disagree. Through cross-campus collaborations via the Institute for Citizens and Scholars’ Campuswide Immersion (CWI) program, twenty-seven institutions, including Montclair State University, Claremont McKenna College, University of Denver, Colorado College, and Dartmouth College, are working to fulfill their institutional mission by embedding civic skills development and mindset into their campus culture, curriculum, and student experience; measuring the efficacy of their efforts and student reach; and implementing a collaborative, multistakeholder engagement model to drive lasting change within an institution.