Reimagining Civic Trust in Rural Higher Education: Institutional Rural Consciousness and Stewardship of Political Place

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Modern Emerging Issues in Rural Education

Abstract

This paper offers new conceptual tools for understanding how rural-serving universities foster democratic resilience in politically polarized contexts. Drawing on a qualitative case study of Western Plateau University (pseudonym), the paper introduces the framework of institutional rural consciousness and applies stewardship of political place to examine how WPU navigated political trust, cultural belonging, and civic engagement leading up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Findings reveal the promises and limitations of rural identity as a civic resource and demonstrate how universites can act as place-based civic anchors—strengthening democratic participation, while contending with institutional ambivalence, reputational risk, and rural complexity. The paper contributes to civic education scholarship by centering rural political agency and interrogating dominant narratives of rurality in higher education.

Author

• Katie L. Kleinhesselink, University of Colorado - Boulder