4 College Presidents Join College Presidents for Civic Preparedness

Princeton, NJ, December 21, 2023 – A group of four presidents of diverse higher education institutions from across the country have joined the College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, a new initiative convened by The Institute for Citizens & Scholars to facilitate shared learning and greater impact through partnership toward the goal of developing college students who are ready to be empowered citizens.  

The 5 presidents joining the initiative lead diverse campuses: Marc Conner, Skidmore College; Jeremy Haefner, University of Denver; Brad Carson, University of Tulsa; and Daniel Diermeier, Vanderbuilt University.

The presidents join the consortium of 25 leaders four-year institutions, including large public flagship universities, Ivy-plus campuses, HBCUs, STEM-focused schools, liberal arts colleges, and faith-based institutions.

“We’re thrilled to add these esteemed leaders to our new initiative College Presidents for Civic Preparedness,” said Rajiv Vinnakota, president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. “They join a diverse coalition of college presidents – from institutions large and small, private and public – united in its commitment to ensuring students are civically well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy.” 

Colleges and universities are among the few places in America where people from remarkably different backgrounds, cultures, and ideologies come together to wrestle with the complexity of what it means to be a democratic community. Many college students are encountering diversity for the first time on a tangible, personal, daily basis. They have a critical opportunity to develop the skills, habits, practices and norms needed to live in a multicultural and interconnected democracy.  

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The Institute for Citizens & Scholars cultivates talent, ideas, and networks that develop young people as effective, lifelong citizens. We unite the left, right, and center to develop breakthrough solutions that create stronger citizens in our country, and we bring these solutions to life by forming strategic partnerships with an intentionally diverse group of young people, scholars and education leaders, and civic and business leaders—including the 27,000 world-leading Fellows in our network. Together, we’re on a mission to ensure that Americans everywhere are civically well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy.