A Civics Lesson
Five years after its founding, Project Pericles takes stock
of its plan to turn students into model citizens

By ELIZABETH F. FARRELL

From the Chronicle of Higher Education, November 24, 2006

Eugene M. Lang, the renowned philanthropist, smiles contentedly as he sits at a sprawling, leather boardroom table. In high-backed chairs, about 30 other higher-education leaders are gathered around him here in midtown Manhattan.

Eugene M. Lang	They have come to discuss the future of Project Pericles Inc., the organization Mr. Lang founded in 2001 to promote civic engagement among college students. Although the number of students who volunteer regularly has increased since the early 1990s, Mr. Lang believes those efforts are often unrelated to students' academic work and career aspirations.
	Without any link between service and learning, he says, students do not learn enough about how they can become responsible and engaged lifelong citizens. So he has urged colleges to help students become involved in politics and civic leadership.

Almost six years ago, Mr. Lang met with 10 college presidents and challenged them to work together to improve their colleges' community-service programs, and to make civic involvement a part of the curriculum in every department. The effort took its name from the Greek statesman who helped plant the seeds of modern democracy.

Mr. Lang, an 87-year-old multimillionaire, made bold predictions about the group, describing its creation as a "seminal event in the history of higher education," a force that could revolutionize academe. Members say the group has made significant strides, particularly in persuading faculty members to change their course offerings. Yet the project's impact on students is difficult to quantify.

In recent years, the number of colleges and universities participating in the project has grown to 22. Each of those institutions has found novel ways to connect traditional classroom learning with socially relevant issues. At Pace University, for instance, professors in the computer-science department developed a course to teach students how to use social-networking Web sites and other technology to mobilize volunteers for various causes.

At last week's meeting, the first time the project's National Board of Advisors has convened to discuss the project face to face, Mr. Lang pledged to raise $10-million for the organization's endowment, of which he will contribute $2.5-million.

The gathering revealed, though, that the group's members are grappling with fundamental questions about how to achieve its mission. How can a college best educate its students to become responsible citizens? And how do administrators know whether they are meeting that goal?

"What we're trying to do sounds sort of arrogant and presumptive," Mr. Lang says.

"It's easy to argue over the definition of what we want to accomplish, because it's so big and ephemeral. We're talking about something that affects students' attitudes and ways of life."

While Project Pericles' members do not have a single yardstick for measuring their progress, they do have common standards for membership. To become a "Periclean," as member institutions are called, a college must prove that it already has a strong commitment to cultivating civic engagement among its students.

Other requirements include establishing a campus Pericles program with clear objectives, appointing a program director who reports directly to the college's president, and creating a subcommittee on the board of trustees that oversees the efforts.

That might sound like a lot of bureaucratic legwork, but officials from some member institutions say the requirements have rejuvenated their commitments to civic engagement.

Allyson M. Lowe

"Being a part of Pericles has sharpened the work we do and brought together a lot of disparate programs at our college," says Allyson M. Lowe, director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy at Chatham College, an all-women's institution in Pittsburgh. "The level of direct access we have now to the board and president has really raised the profile of civic engagement on our campus."

After becoming involved with Pericles three years ago, Chatham changed its core curriculum so that all students are required to complete a course called Citizenship and Civic Engagement. All students must also participate in at least six co-curricular activities, including guest lectures and service projects, during the same semester.

The organization seeks to involve not just students but also faculty and staff members, and townspeople, in civic efforts. St. Mary's College of Maryland, which joined Project Pericles in 2004, recently recruited faculty members from its institution and others to serve as poll workers on Election Day.

Periclean institutions do not receive any money from the organization, although the first 10 colleges to join each got a seed grant of $50,000 provided that they matched that amount on their own. And participation has little influence on an institution's ranking in U.S. News & World Report's annual college guide. Still, many colleges are clamoring to participate in the project.

Jan Risë Liss, executive director of Project Pericles, says nearly 100 additional colleges have asked to join the organization. For now, though, the group is limiting its membership until it further defines its goals.

Member colleges have access to a network of leaders at like-minded colleges.

"We are comrades in a cause," says Ms. Lowe. "It's great to know that if I want to, say, find ideas on how to work on electoral activism in a new way, there are 21 other people out there that I can call up who will understand that question inherently and are excited about it."

Mr. Lang has asked members to help him define the organization's role. During the meeting in Manhattan, a few of them propose ideas he rejects.

Some of the advisers say the project should expand to include a broader array of institutions, including community colleges and those that serve older students. Currently only St. Mary's among all 22 members is a public institution; the rest are private liberal-arts colleges.

Mr. Lang tells attendees at the Manhattan meeting that some public colleges lack the resources to make the kind of institutional commitment Pericles requires, and that the organization should not lower its standards just to diversify its membership.

Nonetheless the philanthropist welcomes the debate. "I like your criticisms," Mr. Lang tells one participant after the meeting. "It shows me that you're paying attention. Don't stop."

Project Pericles does not yet have the brand-name recognition of larger programs like Campus Compact, which serves as an umbrella organization for 975 colleges that promote students' involvement in politics and community service. But there is evidence that the project is already helping its member institutions gain the recognition and financial support they need to meet their goals.

At Chatham, for instance, Ms. Lowe says her office recently secured a grant, to develop a conference on public leadership for high-school girls, that it probably would not have received without the college's association with Project Pericles. "The funders wanted evidence that we had an institutional commitment to civic engagement," says Ms. Lowe. "Our membership in Pericles was tangible proof that I could immediately point out to convince them of that."

The project has also motivated some member colleges, such as Elon University, to create programs that involve everyone at their institutions, including staff members who might otherwise be overlooked in the educational mission. Employees at Elon may apply for service sabbaticals, which give them a month of paid leave from their jobs to work for a local community-service group.

After almost 10 years of devoting himself exclusively to his philanthropic causes, Mr. Lang remains one of higher education's most idealistic figures. His staff members say he still works at least 12 hours a day, six days a week. So far he has donated $150-million to various educational institutions and projects, including his I Have a Dream Foundation, which helps inner-city students pay for college.

"Pericles has become a pre-emptive obsession for me," says Mr. Lang. "I'd say I spend more time on this than I ever have on anything else ... it's obviously a cause with many significant and overwhelming challenges."

However his organization's mission evolves, Mr. Lang wants the "Periclean" distinction to have cachet.

"I want it to be like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval," he says. "I want people to know when they see the Periclean insignia that they are applying to a college that educates model citizens."