Of all the issues in need of attention at this moment in the history of American higher education, few are as important as the status and future of its public mission, purposes and work. Scott Peters takes this issue up in his newest book, "Democracy and Higher Education," discussed in a Chats in the Stacks book talk at Mann Library in March 2011. Through the presentation and analysis of oral history profiles of the public engagement work of a dozen Cornell faculty members, he illuminates and defends an under-appreciated tradition of civic professionalism in higher education that includes and interweaves expert, social critic, responsive service, and proactive leadership roles.