Presidents Unite to Send Students From Campus to Community

Presidents across our coalition are raising their voices—together. In 2025, 71 presidents joined a collective commencement campaign, delivering coordinated messages that echoed a shared refrain: “You are not just prepared for a career. You are prepared to strengthen democracy.” Their messages were unified and personal, calling on students to be bridge-builders in a fractured world.

Presidents from colleges and universities across the country used their commencement addresses to remind graduates of the responsibilities that come with a university education.

“Due to your university education, you are prepared, global citizens—ready not only for careers, but to engage meaningfully across difference, to think critically, to participate with purpose in strengthening our democracy, and to contribute to the broader communities we share.”
—Susan Wente, Wake Forest University

“You are graduating during a turbulent time, but you are exactly what our world and our nation need now. Here at TU you’ve grown to become caring and responsible citizens. You’ve learned to think critically. You’ve learned to listen and you’ve learned to find compromise. And you’ve learned to work together to make our world, our nation, our community a better place.”
—Mark Ginsberg, Towson University

“We need you to lead us away from hate and division and toward love and understanding. We need you to build bridges and connections.”
—Suzanne Rivera, Macalester College

“You have seen a world in flux, politically, environmentally, economically, and socially. And yet, you’ve held firm to your values, you’ve adapted with grace, persevered with determination, and grown into the kind of leaders the world urgently needs: thoughtful, ethical, and engaged. That’s the role of higher education, and it is essential to a healthy democracy.”
—Scott Miller, Virginia Wesleyan University

“Part of what I hope you’ve learned here is that you can work together to do something meaningful in the world, even when you disagree.”
—Jennifer Mnookin, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“You have discovered that community is not something that happens by accident. It is built, one conversation at a time. As a result, you have learned to live together with people from different places, backgrounds, traditions, and faiths.”
—Karen Petersen, Hendrix College

Our vision remains clear: every student in America graduates not just with knowledge, but with the capacity—and the responsibility—to be an engaged citizen.

We’re proud of how far we’ve come—but we’re just getting started. In the year ahead, we will:

• Expand our campuswide strategy to more institutions

• Deepen support for faculty with new resources and training

• Elevate student voices and scale student-led initiatives

• Prepare students to confront the threat of mis- and disinformation, helping them think critically and act responsibly in a divisive information ecosystem

Higher education faces real challenges—but it’s also stepping up. Because in this moment, the role of higher education in sustaining our civic life is not optional. It’s essential.

This coalition is proof: When students speak, faculty teach, and presidents lead—together—we can restore higher education’s role as the foundation of a healthy democracy.