Nine articles discuss the relationship between the higher education community and the public. The articles are: (1) "On a Certain Blindness in Teaching" by Michael S. Roth, who stresses the necessity of political citizenship education for a healthy democracy; (2) "Monocultural Perspectives and Campus Diversity" by Jane Fried, who explores the notion of thinking "through" culture rather than "about" culture; (3) "Cross-Cultural Experiences in College" by Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, who explores living in a multicultural campus community and problems with the melting pot model; (4) "Other Voices: The Campus as Community" by Linda Stamato, who looks broadly at curricula, campus life and governance; (5) "Resolution before Conflict" by William A. Laramee, who streses the need for metaphor, narrative, humor, and silence; (6) "The Public/Academic Disconnect" by David W. Brown, who examines underlying causes of the declining public support for higher education; (7) "Making Things More Public: On the Political Responsibility of the Media Intellectual" by Jay Rosen, who considers the nature of public service for those who study mass communication; (8) "The Renewal of Civic Life: One College's Journey" by Joanne Cavallaro, who recounts the experience of the College of Saint Catherine (Minnesota) in engaging the issues of civic education and democratic action; and (9) "The Politics of Diversity and the Politics of Difference: Are Academics and the Public Out of Sync?" by David Mathews, who summarizes the issues raised in the previous papers. (Some papers contain references.) (MAH)