The First Articulation of the Pericles Vision
When Eugene M. Lang was asked in 1999 to write an article for Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he could have simply written a thoughtful essay, accepted praise, and moved on. The invitation gave him occasion to put years of percolating frustration into words: “Could ‘responsible citizenship,’ as an active ingredient, contribute significantly as a force for breathing new life and viability into the liberal arts mission?“
Although the article was well received, Lang refused to stop at a “hit-and-run appraisal” on the matter. He was determined to put his thoughts into action. Lang set out to transform higher education, convinced that every discipline can and should be tied to particular areas of social and civic concern.
In his mind, a new mission was born: for a consortium of liberal arts colleges to collectively lead a coherent, comprehensive effort to recapture and preserve the core values of democratic society by inspiring and educating their students through curricular and co-curricular programs. These colleges would ensure that students understand social issues and political systems, develop informed opinions, and advocate for them thoughtfully.
The Man Behind the Mission
To understand Lang’s determination, you have to understand his origin story. Born in 1919 to Jewish immigrant parents in New York City, Lang attended public schools during the Great Depression before earning a scholarship to Swarthmore College at 15. He knew, from personal experience, the transformative power of education.
He went on to build an internationally recognized business career, pioneering licensing and technology transfer for American manufacturers abroad. In 1963, he founded the Eugene M. Lang Foundation, where his deeper ambitions lived.
In 1981, Lang launched the “I Have a Dream” Program, which has provided sustained, personalized support to thousands of underserved children throughout their K-12 years and into college. The program’s success inspired federal and state legislation that ultimately benefited millions. President Bush named him a “Point of Light,” and President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Challenges at the Turn of the Millennium
Throughout the 1990s, Lang became increasingly troubled by trends he observed in higher education. Universities were drifting from their democratic purpose, students were disengaging from civic participation, and there was no coordinated effort to reverse the trend.
In 2000, 70% of American college students participated in service activities, but only 40% voted in the General Election. Students cared deeply about their communities. They staffed food banks, tutored children, and showed up when people needed them. But they were disengaging from the very systems designed to serve those same people. They weren’t connecting their compassion to civic action. Without that connection, real and lasting change remained out of reach.
Universities generally weren’t filling that gap. Focused on careers, credentials, and economic mobility, they had largely stepped back from their role in preparing students for active, ethical, and responsible citizenship. Civic learning was confined to the edges of campus life. It was extracurricular, detached from the intellectual rigor of the classroom, and disconnected from serious analysis of the problems it sought to address.
Lang believed higher education could do better– and that it was obligated to.
A Dream Incorporated
In 1999, Lang held an informal meeting with friends to articulate this mission and develop a plan to put it into action. He then spent the next two years studying these issues and meeting with hundreds of educators and administrators to develop a workable organizational and programmatic design. Drawing on his past experience, clout, and the Daedalus article, Lang secured buy-in from influential higher education leaders to support the project.
Over the ensuing years, the vision was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) named Project Pericles. The name was inspired by the Ancient Greek statesman Pericles, who led Athens during the height of its democracy and held the radical belief that citizenship was a practice and that all citizens had a duty to participate in public life. Twenty-five centuries later, Lang was making the same argument.
A Historic Transformation of Higher Education
On January 17, 2001, the presidents and chairs of a diverse group of the first ten Periclean colleges and universities, along with a new Executive Planning Board, met in New York to launch Project Pericles.
This gathering of notable leaders across higher education was united by a serious desire to transform their institutions into pillars of democracy. The conversation was substantive: mission, policy, and an operating agenda. The representatives from each college or university took meaningful responsibility for their unique roles and contributions to the mission. They were inspired.
Gregory S. Prince Jr., then president of Hampshire College, memorably stated: “Let’s all realize — we have undertaken to lead an historic transformation of higher education in the United States.”
The institutions committed to five foundational policies: a formal trustee resolution, a standing board committee to oversee it, a campus-based program led by a director reporting directly to the president, regular evaluation of that program’s quality and impact, and a commitment to collaboration rather than competition with other organizations in the field.
At this point, Lang viewed Project Pericles as a catalyst for transforming higher education and saw the Periclean institutions and their constituencies as heroes enacting the change.
An Inspiring Work-in-Progress
Over the next several years, the institutions created Centers for Civic Engagement and developed, piloted, and established innovative programs on their campuses dedicated to the mission, from an academic minor in values, ethics, and social action at Allegheny College– led by President Richard Cook– to a new leadership program in service and citizenship at Pace University–led by President David Caputo. Caputo has served on the Project Pericles Board to this day. Allegheny has remained closely involved with leading Project Pericles, with James Mullen (President Emeritus) and Ron Cole (current President) serving as past and current Board Chairs, respectively.
In April 2003, Project Pericles held its first Periclean conference with 137 delegates–trustees, presidents, provosts, administrators, faculty, students, and alumni–together in the same room. The conference was covered in the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Eugene Lang reflected on the conference in his 2005 article, “Project Pericles: A Daring Work-in-Progress“:
“Most important, everyone left the conference with a fulfilling sense that, beyond daring, we were indeed part of an inspiring work-in-progress.”
In the same article, Lang wrote:
“The agenda for the immediate future of Project Pericles is demanding. As time goes on, and the existence and recognition of Project Pericles is well established, the agenda will likely seem less daring. Without fanfare, the transformation of higher education envisioned by Project Pericles will become increasingly evident. Its mission, however, in association with the needs and changes in the society contained by our democracy, will continue to make Project Pericles a work-in-progress.”
Lang’s vision holds true all these years later. Twenty-five years on, the political disenchantment he observed in 1999 has only deepened, and the urgency of his original question has only grown. Project Pericles remains what it was always meant to be: a daring, unfinished work.
This is the first article in our Impact25 series, commemorating Project Pericles’ 25th anniversary.
We appreciate the support of Project Pericles’ former Executive Director, Jan Liss, and Executive Director of the Eugene M. Lang Foundation, Lauren McGrail, who worked closely with Mr. Lang at the organization’s founding, for helping us paint a picture of the extraordinary figure who founded Project Pericles.