One year ago I was fortunate to join Project Pericles as Executive Director, building on decades of powerful work by many of you. I came in with a beginner’s mind blended with decades of experience as an educator, change-maker, and bridge-builder. I was further fueled by deep commitment to scrutinizing what does and doesn’t work in our current state of higher education and democracy (which are inextricably intertwined) and to helping co-construct the next leg of our organizational journey. To say that it has been a fascinating and unexpected year is an understatement.
I’ve spent a lot of time listening and learning from and with our stellar team, Program Directors, faculty leaders, students, Board Members, partners, funders, and friends of Pericles in the spirit of renewing, reimagining, and charting the next leg of our journey together. What I’ve heard and seen underscores an unshakeable truth: our organization, our sector, and our country are all in a process of becoming, striving to be more excellent, more enduring, and more aligned with the democratic ideals we claim to value. What got us here will not get us where we need to go, as a higher ed sector and as a nation.
Fortunately, Project Pericles is well positioned to meet this generative moment, working beside campuses nationwide that are determined to uplift civic life, public purpose, and democratic revitalization. Together, we have started reshaping what a college education can and should do for our democracy, and we are excited to broaden and deepen this work in partnership with you.
We are in the midst of a robust, collaborative strategic planning process that is sharpening our focus on what matters most: developing civic agency and preparing students for lives of purpose, linking civic engagement to their—and our country’s— future, and raising the bar for higher education’s role in a healthy democracy. Alongside this, over the past year we have:
- strengthened and innovated our programming, launching new strands of our Periclean Faculty Leadership (PFL) and our civic engagement mini-grant program focused on course enhancement, democracy revitalization, and navigating complex media ecosystems, leading to 36 new PFL courses awarded and 50 new mini-grants this spring alone.
- expanded our reach to 66 campuses, engaging over 7000 students in civic learning and democratic action.
- grown our team, onboarding our extraordinary Civic Impact Assistant Jason Vadnos, Communications and Civic Impact Coordinator Harry Hou, and our stellar summer interns Nafees Abdullah and Junie Blaise
- broadened and deepened collaborations with organizations like AAC&U, The Bonner Foundation, Bringing Theory to Practice, Campus Compact, The Center for Artistic Activism, The Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Coalition, Engage Cornell, Imagining America, North Carolina Campus Engagement (NCCE), Partnerships for Campus Community-Engagement (PCCE), the Students Learn, Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition, Unify America, and more
- enhanced visibility and content, making our Civic Engagement Resources available to nearly 14,000 unique visitors this year, with close to 1,000 active users drawing on them to support civic learning on their campuses
Beyond the numbers is the impact we’ve had on lives and learning, changing minds and changing futures. Students are finding their voices and their belief that democracy depends on them, shifting from disengagement to agency. A few examples we’ve heard this year:
- “We start[ed] to appreciate more about the importance of democracy and the right to vote, as well as promoting and encouraging these aspects.” – student at Montgomery College (MD) in a Periclean funded course
- “This program significantly increased student engagement. The students were highly enthusiastic about the project, and their involvement extended beyond the classroom. Many took the initiative to assist peers in registering to vote and understanding absentee voting. Their active participation and the real-world impact of their work underscored the effectiveness of integrating voter engagement topics into the curriculum.” – professor at Elon University (NC), reflecting on their course impact after receiving a Periclean Faculty Leadership grant.
Perilous times are Periclean times–we were literally made for this moment. As I head into year two–and as we head towards Pericles25 and America250 in 2026–we are excited to keep building this future together with you. Stay tuned for more on our strategic plan and our shared vision for a civic future where every student, and every campus, can prosper and thrive.
With gratitude,
Sanda Balaban, Executive Director