Now that one of the most difficult of elections is behind us, my fervent hope is that our nation will come together to resolve the problems that confront us and create a better future we all desire.
Studying our nation during its early days, the French political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville observed: “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
If we have lost some of our ability to repair our faults, we need to recapture it. Or maybe the inventive resilience de Tocqueville saw in the 19th century is still there. Either way, we must heal our divisions, fix what needs to be fixed, and move forward with new unity and purpose.
We now know that we will be moving forward under the leadership of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, both of whom have deep connections to public universities and vividly exemplify public higher education’s transformation mission. I think it is easy to see that the ethos of public higher education has informed their careers in public service.
I wish them well, as their success truly will be important to the nation and will shape our lives.