Carolyn D. Commer is Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Rhetoric and Writing PhD program at Virginia Tech. She earned her PhD from Carnegie Mellon University, where she served as President of the Graduate Student Assembly and the Northeast Legislative Director for the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students.
“With higher education in crisis once again, Championing a Public Good comes along not a moment too soon. Carolyn Commer presents a compelling vision for higher education advocacy that stresses the role of deliberative leadership in emphasizing the value of higher education as a public good. For anyone who hopes to make a difference in the fight for the future of higher learning, Commer’s book is essential reading.” —Mark Hlavacik,author of Assigning Blame: The Rhetoric of Education Reform “Commer advances a vision for how presidents of colleges and universities across a wide range of educational missions and institutional types can use deliberative rhetorics as part of their leadership toolbox and assume responsibility for convening public deliberation about the aims and values of higher education.” —Scott Wible,author of Shaping Language Policy in the U.S.: The Role of Composition Studies