This volume begins with an essay by Noelle McAfee, a contributor who is familiar to readers of Higher Education Exchange (HEX). She reiterates Kettering's president David Mathews' argument regarding the disconnect between higher education's sense of engagement and the public's sense of engagement, and suggests a way around the epistemological conundrum of "knowledge produced for a public rather than by a public." Her solution may rouse many arguments, but it is intriguing, nonetheless. An interview with Matt Leighninger, executive director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, follows. He talks with HEX coeditor David Brown about the need for professionals of all stripes to value community. In the next article, Matt McKinney shares the work of the University of Montana's Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI). The institute, he writes, "helps citizens and officials build livable communities, vibrant economies, and healthy landscapes through inclusive, informed, and deliberative public processes." The piece that follows is an interview by David Brown with Deborah Wadsworth, a trustee of Bennington College. Wadsworth shares her "500-yard" view of trusteeship and its meaning for liberal arts institutions. The final essay, by Denise Dowling at the University of Montana, looks at the ever-evolving role of higher education through the prism of journalism. She suggests journalism is a discipline that "requires the public" and asks how the university can relate to the different knowledge a community brings to the examination of an issue. David Mathews, in his Afterword, offers his take on what this volume of essays and articles means for higher education. Always provocative, and never pedestrian, he shares his prescription for a renewed relationship between higher education and the public. [For "Higher Education Exchange, 2008," see ED510312.]