America at 250: Higher Education Is Invaluable to the Success of the American Experiment

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, it is a time to pause, reflect on our progress, and celebrate our advances in healthcare, technology, exploration, industry, human rights, and education. There is no question that our nation has a rich history—one that has inspired generations in the pursuit of liberty, equality, and patriotism. However, 250 years after our founding, we remain a nation grappling with how to atone for our darkest and most painful chapters.

Our inability to resolve these differences has affected every aspect of the American experiment. However, I believe our educational institutions can play a profound role in helping America realign itself.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams argued that a self-governing republic could survive only if its people were educated. They viewed education as the primary safeguard against tyranny, enabling citizens to understand complex issues, protect their freedoms, shape shared moral values, assimilate immigrants, and vote wisely.

The Founding Fathers understood that education was foundational to establishing America. They valued it because they believed it could strengthen national security, elevate the human condition, and stabilize the great "experiment" we call democracy.

Although the nation's founders could not have envisioned Historically Black Colleges and Universities, these institutions have profoundly strengthened American higher education and enriched our democracy.

French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi stated of educated youth, "The experience of the old is not a motor: it is only a lamppost, warning against dangers; the light that illuminates the long path ahead is you, the youth, who are holding its torch; it is you who are to illuminate the future and its obscurities."

One hundred twenty-five years into the American experiment, Coppin State University was founded. For half of our nation's existence, Coppin has been woven into the fabric of America, educating the descendants of enslaved people and immigrants and transforming generations into educators, entrepreneurs, public servants, healthcare professionals, researchers, artists, military officers, and civic leaders who have strengthened our nation and our democracy.

Our students serve as the light illuminating the long path ahead. We have prepared them to be the torch bearers of truth and to stand in the gap serving others; all with the understanding that they do so, because they have a responsibility to fight for our country not as it is, but for the way it should be – a more just nation, and more unified nation.

Those expectations reflect the very purpose the Founding Fathers envisioned for educational institutions, believing such principles were critical if the American experiment was to prevail.

Despite today's polarization and growing distrust in our institutions, our nation must become more optimistic again. I see America's future taking shape every day on college campuses. Our colleges and universities must continue serving as training grounds for ideas, innovation, discovery, and civil discourse while fostering environments where dissenting viewpoints can be expressed respectfully. If not on our campuses, where?

Every day I see students from different backgrounds, beliefs, races, political perspectives, and life experiences learning together, challenging one another, and discovering that progress depends on listening, respect, and a shared vision for the future. It is these young people who will illuminate the path ahead, carrying the torch of knowledge into a future that is still theirs to shape.

Let us resist allowing partisan politics to define how we resolve our differences, engage one another, and build our future. We must move beyond tribalism. Doing so requires both individual and collective courage. We are the United States of America, and I remain confident in the resilience, decency, and enduring spirit of the American people.

America was built by dreamers, workers, innovators, educators, and courageous citizens who believed the next generation deserved greater opportunity than the last. If we want the next 250 years to be our finest, we must once again place education at the heart of the American story. Because when we invest in education, we invest in democracy, opportunity, and the enduring promise of America herself.

As we celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary, our dreams must be bigger than our fears, our divisions, and our cynicism.

America is still full of possibilities. Progress is still possible. Hope is still possible. The American experiment is still worth fighting for.

America is "We the People," and the pursuit of happiness is a right that belongs to us all. I believe higher education can help ensure that the American experiment not only endures, but thrives for the next 250 years.

Happy 250th Birthday, America.

Anthony L. Jenkins, Ph.D.

President