University of Michigan President Lee C. Bollinger issued a statement announcing the mission of and participants in Imagining America‘s Presidents Council.

The Presidents Council is a leadership group of presidents who are early advocates for the mission of “Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life,” an official partner of the White House Millennium Council. These presidents will be working to further that mission on their own campuses and in American higher education.

Also supported by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, “Imagining America ” will encourage sustainable campus-community partnerships in the arts, humanities, and design. This national consortium will support the work of university artists, humanists, and designers and their community partners. “Imagining America” will foster programs that enrich the public life of communities. A sampling of some of these programs funded by Imagining America Public Scholarship Grants is available at http://www.ia.umich.edu/.

President Bollinger’s statement:

“As founding members of Imagining America’s Presidents Council, we strongly support this national alliance of people working to link the resources of campuses and communities. Our American colleges and universities, like many other institutions, are committed to civic engagement. The arts, humanities, and design are integral to this mission.

“Culture seems intangible, but its force can make a profound difference in communities where history, language, performance, ethics, imagination, and a sense of place are valued. From the forms and stories of our world, new kinds of citizenship arise. University and community partners who take these realities seriously are the agents of a healthy democracy. For these reasons, we believe that cultural work in the public interest should be at the heart of American higher education and public life.

“The goal of the Presidents Council is to affirm the practical importance of culture-making for American communities. We want to promote engagement through the arts, humanities, and design on our own campuses, in our regions, and across the nation.

“To paraphrase one of our colleagues, we believe, first, that the University must stand behind the faculty member or student involved in a collaborative enterprise. Second, we are convinced that the best programs are fully integrated into the life of the institution and its schools or departments. Third, the most successful collaborations draw on genuine expertise that students, faculty and staff bring to the relationship. And fourth, sustainable collaborations must be shaped by the strength and aspirations of our community partners. Projects must have real roots in the community.

“In order to realize these goals, the Council will:

—Foster new networks connecting higher education, K-12 schools, state arts and humanities councils, and the non-profit cultural sector regionally and nationally;

—Support concrete, long-term ways of supporting and rewarding faculty in the arts, humanities and design who are involved in community projects; and

—Provide a forum for the ongoing evaluation of public engagement through the cultural disciplines in American colleges and universities.

“Citizens are doing the work of the public arts and humanities in the belief that inspiration has real effects on individuals, institutions, and communities. We support Imagining America because it aims to focus the energies of higher education on helping to realize that belief.”

Among those university presidents who are participating on the Imagining America Presidents’ Council are: Robert M. Berdahl (Berkeley); Henry S. Bienen (Northwestern); Lee C. Bollinger (chair, Michigan); Mary Sue Coleman (Iowa); Claire Gaudiani (Connecticut College); E. Gordon Gee (Brown); Walter Harrison (University of Hartford); Shirley S. Kenny (Stony Brook); Steven D. Lavine (Cal Arts); Richard C. Levin (Yale); Audrey F. Manley (Spelman); Richard L. McCormick (Washington); Alan Merten (George Mason); Judith Ramaley (Vermont); Judith Rodin (Penn); Ruth J. Simmons (Smith); Charles M. Vest (MIT); David Ward (Wisconsin).

President Lee C. BollingermissionWoodrow Wilson National Fellowship FoundationRobert M. Berdahl