What a pleasure it is to welcome all of you talented, thoughtful and spirited colleagues who have committed to spending two days luxuriously exploring the Humanities! Let me thank the team that worked hard to make this conference possible, along with the members of the CCHA Board. I also extend special thanks to your presidents who make sure their Humanities faculty have access to events like this.
This is my last year as president of CCBC, and my last as chair of the CCHA Board. After nearly a lifetime of being an ardent member of CCHA, going way back into the 1980s, I want to also salute David Berry, who ran CCHA almost single-handedly out of his faculty office at Essex County College in New Jersey. So this year’s conference is extra special to me. I am happy to affirm that CCBC is committed to continuing to serve as the home for CCHA for as long as the organization wishes because we are a college that likes to invest in both lost causes and good causes. CCHA isn’t just a good cause; it is a noble cause. Community colleges are democracy colleges, and you cannot have a democracy without humanists!
And that statement brings us front and center to the conference theme: Being Human in a World on Fire. If we lived in a quieter time, we might step into a more philosophical or metaphysical exploration of the humanities tonight, perhaps muse a bit on Aristotle or the Bhagavad Gita. But theoretical musing is not what our institutions need right now. “Being Human in a World on Fire” is an apt metaphor for the world in which we are currently living. But we are humanists, educated and trained to mount the barricades in our own humanistic way. We do not need to become anarchists to have impact.
I was an English professor for 22 years at Prince Georges Community College, which in itself is probably the best street cred that I have for the job I hold today. Some people say that old English professors never die; they just get crankier. I think they are right. And when I think about both the metaphorical and the real “World on Fire,” I don’t just get cranky; I get mad! I fall back on the strong words of Dylan Thomas’s poem to his dying father, “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” …and that’s what we need to do, not with strident protests, but in the secret and skillful way that is the province of the humanist.
I believe that most of us who teach and study the Humanities do so in spite of the fact that we serve three different masters—federal, state, and city/county governments. And we do this, standing astride at the forefront of serving communities with legacies of exclusion. We come from different places and different experiences; we serve different populations and have different stories to tell, but there are 1,000 of us all across this country. Together we serve roughly 10 million Americans. We are doing the hard work of talent development for this country. So yes, we are a bit challenged at the moment: there are certain words we cannot say/grants for which we are no longer eligible to apply/and an array of other pesky intrusions. However, it is more important than ever for us to come together, ready to lean into hard conversations, not as philosophers or woeful prognosticators but as active agents of an important cause.
At CCBC we have long dealt with this new world by staying true to two very simple premises: “Every One of Us Counts.” That phrase does not elide to become “Everyone”; it means “Every One!” Whether a student or colleague is in a three-piece suit/hijab/or MAGA hat, all are welcome here. You cannot get more humanistic than that. But because words are ephemeral, quickly forgotten, we further commit to taking “Actions That Matter.” That means we leave our politics at the door. We stand tall and serene, unafraid to face what comes. We work alongside our discipline specific colleagues in the health professions, scientific, business or technical fields, etc., and together we work miracles. I know that is what each of your colleges does as well.
So I am here to lend a strong voice of affirmation to the goals and the very essence of what Humanism means to a “World on Fire,” an initiative that our college, your colleges, and indeed every college must work at affirming. Let us not pretend that the tempo of the times will just blow over; but let us not act as if we are under attack! A seismic demographic shift in America over the past 50 years is not a myth. It dictates who is sitting in our classrooms today, and who knows better than us what skills and intelligence today’s students need to thrive in this world. So what have we learned, and what have we altered as we look introspectively at ourselves, at our academic policies, functional procedures, teaching models and methods and our infusion of AI? How do we keep the minds and souls of both ourselves and our students wide open? It is the Humanists who are the key.
While our four-year colleagues, especially those from prestigious universities, must respond to the challenge of shrinking prestige, declining majors, and closed programs, our sector has risen in both visibility and importance because of our close connection to the daily world of work which, in our hands, is infused within the essential wisdom of the humanities. At CCBC, we know that everything we do is workforce development, whether we are educating nurses, engineers, plumbers, welders, or poets and dancers. All of those disciplines depend on the critical thinking, cultural understanding and civic engagement that the Humanities represent. I like to repeat the words of “The Old Philosopher,” Eddie Lawrence: “Never give up, never give up, never give up, that ship!”
No matter the political climate, as a sector we have a powerful voice. Because 87% of those we serve come from disenfranchised communities, no sector of higher education is better positioned to do what we can do for our communities and our country. For us there should be no conflict between Liberal Education and Workforce Education.
At the moment, our national climate may feel more than a bit alien, but we are a nationwide force with resilience and commitment. Our open-door mission is stronger than ever, and the strength of that commitment will guide us through uncertain times. In hard times our job is to stay true to “Who we are;” “Whom” we serve;” and “How” and “Why” we serve them. Draw comfort from the fact that living our mission is always our best revenge!
