Why College Presidents Need a Coalition for Civic Preparedness
From Changing Higher Ed by Dr. Drumm McNaughton
May 5, 2026 · 38 min · Episode 310
About this episode
The episode discusses the need for colleges to focus on civic preparedness and the role of college presidents in fostering civic skills among students.
Civic preparedness in higher education can no longer be treated as an assumed byproduct of a college education. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Raj Vinnakota , president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars , about how colleges and universities can rebuild the civic skills students need to navigate disagreement, evaluate credible information, and solve problems across difference. Drawing on his work with college presidents, faculty, employers, and Gen Z leaders, Vinnakota explains why higher education has drifted too far toward a private-good narrative focused almost entirely on jobs and individual outcomes. He makes the case that institutions must also reclaim their public-good responsibility by preparing students to participate productively in civic life. The conversation also explores College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, or CP², a coalition of 135 college and university presidents working together to lower the political and institutional risk of leading civic preparedness work alone. Vinnakota explains why opt-in programming is not enough, why faculty need support to teach contentious issues, and why shared…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Drumm McNaughton
Guest: Raj Vinnakota
Topics covered
- civic preparedness
- higher education
- college presidents
- civic skills
- public-good responsibility
- Gen Z leaders
- civic learning
Keywords
- civic preparedness
- higher education
- college presidents
- civic skills
- public good
- Gen Z
- civic learning
- political risk
- faculty support
- campus culture change
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Institute for Citizens & Scholars, College Presidents for Civic Preparedness
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