Serving the US, serving the world

The era we live in requires Columbia to be a globally-minded university. Few would dispute that our nation shares many of its challenges with the international community. Thus, solutions will only come through cooperation across culture and continent. However, the increasing globalization of our society does not necessitate institutions like Columbia abandoning national identity. Instead, those associations between university and country will serve as powerful catalysts for thriving in the 21st century.

To avoid ambiguity, it’s important to understand what exactly it means to be an American university. For me, an American university is one that understands its role as an institution in the socio-political system of the United States. It is one that is cognizant of what society needs, and educates the public in ways that will meaningfully strengthen America’s values and resources as it grapples with national and international challenges. In so doing, it contributes to the strengthening of the world.

This perspective hinges on the understanding that even in a highly globalized world, nation-states are important. While borders may be more permeable, they nonetheless exist. This is not a weakness. Nations can serve as conduits for effecting change in the world. In the case of the United States, we have national values, which, though frequently debated, distinguish us as Americans. Whether capitalism, democracy, innovation, service, or personal freedom, our values sustain our advocacy throughout the world and define our place in it.

This is where the university comes into play. It is in many ways the keeper of a nation’s values—the conduit for civic education. It bears the responsibility of educating young people to appreciate and advocate for those values. It can strengthen the values undergirding our country by furnishing smart, thoughtful individuals to society’s institutions. This does not, however, mean that international students fall outside of the purview of an American university. Rather, the welcoming of international students is a natural result of the values of diversity and exchange of ideas.

Is Columbia an American university? Yes. For hundreds of years, it has been an institution devoted to the freedoms of the United States and aware of what the country needs in its young people. Perhaps the best example of education as national interest is in the genesis of the Core Curriculum. After World War I, the faculty of Columbia College endeavored to craft an education that would develop future leaders equipped to prevent the outbreak of war. They understood that the education of young people in America’s values and the critical thinking necessary to apply them is an effective way to serve not only the United States, but the world at large.

Though the world has changed since 1919, the basic principles underlying the intent of the Core remain valid. What has changed about the world is the amount of communication and interaction between the corners of the globe. Outsourcing aside, this is often regarded as a positive development, since collaboration among the world’s scientists, artists, politicians, and businesses has yielded many rewards.

These developments have also, broadly speaking, produced two competing views about the global community. Mirroring Columbia, the question of whether to dwell on commonalities of identity or engage with an acknowledgement of fundamental differences is up for debate. Some of the more progressive perspectives on globalization embrace international organizations as mechanisms to build a unified humanity. I think, however, that it is the deep and frequently contentious engagement of our fundamental value differences that ultimately enhances our communities.

So, should Columbia be an American university? Yes. Without such an affiliation, Columbia floats in a sea of value-neutral globalism, attempting to serve everyone while abdicating its role as conduit and nurturer of the values that make the United States great. Columbia is not just responsible for effective training of its students in particular disciplines. If it were, then the University would merely be a global factory of skilled people. Rather, Columbia exists to serve the public good, which involves much more than producing skilled graduates. If America’s values are unique and powerfully beneficial—as I believe they are—then Columbia’s embrace of its American identity and its endorsement of American values put the university on a path of true public service, both at home and abroad.

Derek Turner is a Columbia College senior majoring in anthropology and political science. He contributes regularly to The Canon.