As mentioned in my message last month, many of us at land-grant universities find comfort and oftentimes inspiration in advancing the public good. As virtuous as our intentions may be, we should consider how it is we define the “public good”, especially at a time nationally and internationally when reparations, rematriation and past injustices are beginning to rise to the surface of public consciousness. 

For example, if we are to assess the history surrounding the establishment of land-grant institutions in which the government took land that were territories of Native American peoples, the origin story of serving the public good can be called into question. However as mixed as this past may be, it is vital to consider the present as a teachable moment as we have an opportunity to address past institutional injustices through the ways we approach our work moving forward. 

Previously, I have commented on the need to take into account our complicated history as a land-grant institution and to keep the communities negatively affected by institutional designs at the forefront of our minds. This is vital at UC Davis given our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion as a leading public and land-grant university. In practical terms, the changing demographics of our student population and the diverse communities we purport to serve necessitate that we lead by example.

At the national level, the recent appointment of Chancellor May as Board Chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities promises to elevate equitable student success and impactful public engagement. Regionally, it is worth noting that University of California President Michael Drake announced UC will ensure financial aid, as well as other resources, fully covers in-state systemwide tuition and student services fees for California residents who are members of federally recognized Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes. Closer to home, a blog featured in this month’s news from Greg Downs, Brianna Tafolla Riviere, and Chantal Walker illustrates the type of useful knowledge and tools that are co-created with community-based organizations such as the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

The futuring of a land-grant university that takes issues of reparations, rematriation, and past injustices seriously will require a shift away from a public good paradigm in which knowledge is produced by the academy and dispensed unidirectionally, and toward a public engagement paradigm that acknowledges the harms communities have endured and engages these communities on their terms. It is time to disrupt old logics of how knowledge is produced, by whom, and toward what ends. Creating an awareness of which communities actually benefit from the university’s knowledge enterprise and debating what constitutes the public good is a starting point. 

In community,

Michael Rios
Vice Provost, Public Scholarship and Engagement