No new idea is ever met with unanimous praise. When others express doubts about the Academy mission, those opinions can help us to refine our thinking and check our assumptions as we move forward. Because we think the Academy is an idea whose time has come, however, we also feel confident responding to critics in instances when we respectfully disagree.
One of the criticisms most frequently levied against the Academy plan asserts that, since America has existing undergraduate and graduate programs in public administration, there is no need for a publicly-funded institution with a primary mission of civilian service to country. Here’s an example of such a charge, taken from the Cato Institute’s official blog, [email protected]:
Proponents of [the Academy] idea note on their website that, “the federal government offers only one set of undergraduate institutions for high school seniors with the patriotic desire to serve their country: the military service academies.”
That may be true, but there are plenty of educational options for those who wish to pursue such a career. Why should taxpayers be responsible for an additional $205 million a year for a new public service academy when hundreds and hundreds of colleges and universities already offer public service programs?
An excellent question!, we say. We’re so glad you asked. Here’s Academy co-founder Chris Myers Asch’s response:
“Taxpayers should invest in the Public Service Academy both because it will be more effective than existing colleges at developing strong civilian leaders and because it will send a powerful symbolic message about the importance of public service.
The Academy’s curriculum and five-year post-graduation service requirement have no civilian parallel. Because it will offer a free education to students who make a commitment to service, the Academy will be able to develop an intensive curriculum with more requirements for internships, community service, and mandatory coursework (including study abroad) than other schools can. No civilian college could require or enforce a five-year post-graduation service commitment. This rigorous, service-focused curriculum will produce students who are better equipped for a lifetime of public service leadership.
Public service programs at existing colleges tend to affect small portions of the student body and rarely alter the general campus ethos that values individualism and materialism over public service. A recent study by the Financial Times revealed that even at programs ostensibly devoted to public service, such as Columbia’s School of Public Affairs, the percentage of graduates going into public service has dropped by 50% in a generation. We must do better. The Academy will be able to create a culture of service because it will be devoted solely to the goal of developing public leaders. Like cadets at the military academies, Academy graduates will form strong bonds during the course of four years of service-oriented training. They will be unified by a shared sense of mission that will span across graduating classes, creating an invaluable network of people who can share knowledge and experiences.
Finally, boldness matters. If you want to capture the imagination of a younger generation, you have to be bold. When JFK and Sargent Shriver first sought to develop the Peace Corps, all of the “experts” suggested doing something within existing institutions, something less bold but seemingly safer. Kennedy and Shriver rejected that because they understood that young people would be attracted by two things: 1) the power of a “corps,” a program that unites people into a shared culture of service; and 2) the importance of an identity that comes from having an independent institution. Like the Peace Corps, the Academy can become the defining institution of our generation, our collective response to the challenges of the twenty-first century.”
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If any more readers out there want to jump in and join the Academy dialogue, we welcome you.