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The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.

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Derek Bok discussed citizenship in a digital forum

February 23, 2010

As a public land grant university, UF has a special obligation to encourage students not only to participate in civic activities, but also to equip them with the skills needed to make the thoughtful and informed choices that citizenship requires. Derek Bok suggests some concrete ways in which universities can better prepare students to be good citizens.It is equally acknowledged that colleges and universities have by and large shown little interest in preparing students to be enlightened citizens. This conversation, held on February 23, 2010, was an initial step that began a dialogue among significant constituencies that will result in a more visible focus on civic engagement in its many forms on campus. Harvard President Emeritus Derek Bok’s, “Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More” (2005, ch.7) makes a compelling case that colleges could be accomplishing a good deal more to prepare students as citizens and suggests some concrete ways in which they can do so. The keynote speaker, Derek Bok and satellite speakers Dr. Michael Delli Carpini, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and Professor Molly Andolina, an associate professor of political science from DePaul University in Chicago, educated us about the major themes and issues in this emerging field. This event was moderated by Dean Catherine Emihovich of the UF College of Education.

Derek Bok suggested some concrete ways in which universities can better prepare students to be good citizens.

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February 23, 2010
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