Testimonials
I think that now, in particular, we’re at a moment where higher education institutions are pressured from all sides, and if they don’t attend to the dialogue about our purpose and how we move forward in a positive direction, I think we’re going to be in serious trouble. I think groups like Public Agenda are going to be very important in the path ahead. "
Gretchen Ritter
Vice provost for undergraduate education and faculty governance; director, Course Transformation Program, University of Texas at Austin
Public Agenda is…the leading institution in the country on the faculty engagement question….Public Agenda has been spending time thinking deeply about how to engage faculty."
Harrison Keller
Vice provost for higher education policy, University of Texas at Austin
I learned a lot from working with [you] about the challenges of engagement activities. It’s hard to engage with the public about any of these policy issues….When you have partners like Public Agenda it’s a lot easier to do."
Bernie Ronan
Director of the Maricopa Community Colleges' Center for Civic Participation
I’m so impressed with your report! You’ve told our story in such a beautiful and inspiring fashion that I’m afraid my pride is showing.…It is my hope that others will be able to learn from the model you’ve outlined and that we will also continue to strive for ways to improve our community."
Interviewee
for environmental scan/case study, Kingsport, Tennessee
The communities we serve are very, very different. With Public Agenda’s assistance through Community Conversations and Student-Faculty Dialogues, we have been able to understand our communities at a level that was previously not possible. We have used Public Agenda’s engagement work successfully to gain internal and external input for our new strategic plan."
Thomas Baynum
President of Coastal Bend Community College
We were tackling some difficult issues. Many participants—understandably—had very strong feelings on the issues, which could make discussion challenging. Public Agenda’s remarkable facilitation skills and their unbending commitment to honest engagement really made a difference. We were able to have open, constructive discussions, with all voices heard, generating great ideas for moving forward.
Judy Heiman
HCM Strategists
We had a terrific discussion around the table… and it, in turn, spurred some really amazing comments from everyone in the audience. It was exciting to see how many people appreciated the purpose of deliberation as a result."
Beth Offenbacker
of PublicDecisions.com, talking about a climate change discussion conducted by Public Agenda on the virtual world platform SecondLife.com
Public Agenda ... does good work, as free of institutional bias as any I regularly see.
William Raspberry
Columnist, The Washington Post
Public Agenda, a New York-based nonprofit that does opinion surveys on a range of issues, compiled an analysis of a decade of polling on public education – and the news reports about the study were eye-catching…the report deserved a closer look."