What role does college play in our democracy? “Campuses should be a time and place where students learn to be politically engaged,” says Thomas Ehrlich, an adjunct professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Ehrlich explains why it’s so important for universities to educate their students about political engagement on this episode of the School's In podcast, hosted by GSE Dean Dan Schwartz and Senior Lecturer Denise Pope.

It’s important to teach students not only to be engaged but also how to be effective, says Ehrlich, who has held a variety of leadership positions in higher education, including as president of Indiana University, provost of the University of Pennsylvania and dean of the Stanford Law School. “We make a mistake if we don’t take time and make the effort to educate our students to know how to be effective advocates,” he says, describing how some forms of advocacy aren’t always productive.

You can listen to School’s In on SiriusXM Insight channel 121, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Soundcloud.