Horace Mann, often revered as the father of American public education, laid a powerful foundation for what we now call transformative, inclusive education. In the mid-1800s, he championed the belief that universal access to quality education was not just a privilege but a public right, a cornerstone for sustaining a thriving democratic society. For Mann, education wasn’t merely about personal advancement; it was the essential fuel for an informed, engaged, and ethical citizenry.
The 19th Century Birth of Antioch College: A Manifestation of Mann’s Vision and Values
In 1853, when Horace Mann became the first president of Antioch College (which is now Antioch University), he set out to transform his educational philosophy into living practice. At a time when segregation and gender bias were the norm, Mann introduced one of the first nonsectarian, co-educational institutions in the United States. As an anomaly of the times, Antioch admitted students regardless of race and gender. Long before promoting racial integration in education and equitable access to higher learning became the broadly embraced aims of American higher education, Antioch College served as an exemplar of both.
Antioch University Today: Advancing Mann’s Educational Mission
Fast forward more than 170 years, and Antioch University remains steadfast in honoring Horace Mann’s legacy. The university now serves adult learners nationwide through a combination of online, onsite, and hybrid graduate programs across five national campuses. It also maintains the bachelor degree completion program which, decades ago, catalyzed its entry into graduate education.
Antioch’s commitment to “win victories for humanity” remains its guiding light. This enduring heritage drives a justice-centered, inclusive, and applied education that fuels social change.
Core Offerings Rooted in Social Impact
Today, Antioch’s academic programs reflect an evolved commitment to community engagement, experiential learning, and ethical leadership. Faculty ensure that students immerse themselves in real-world challenges, whether by leading local environmental justice initiatives, leveraging place-based pedagogy in local schools, or addressing social inequalities through counseling, psychology, and mental health advocacy.
These programs reflect the university’s emphasis on “education in action.” Antioch students don’t just study democracy, they live it. Courses are designed with a civic-minded, interdisciplinary approach that connects theory to practice. Business students explore the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Education students work in local schools to enhance both the student experience and the school’s community influence. And students in a Leadership and Change PhD cohort address real-world ethical dilemmas via stakeholder-led change projects that drive action and solutions.
A Modern Response to Democracy’s Erosion
According to President-Elect Lori Varlotta, who takes the Antioch University helm in August 2025, this kind of action-oriented education serves as “an antidote to the erosion of democracy.” At a time when higher education faces the immense challenge of political polarization that can lead to the silencing of, and resistance to, “the other,” Antioch faculty can lead by example. They can spotlight how their participatory, student-centered teaching models instill a sense of civic responsibility that prompts students to co-create a common good in 21st-century communities marked by difference.
Antioch and the Coalition for the Common Good
To further that aim of education, Antioch University is now a co-founder of the Coalition for the Common Good, a new, values-aligned consortium of institutions working to expand equitable access to education. This initiative is more than just strategic collaboration; it’s a reaffirmation that Mann’s vision for public education is not only enduring but urgently relevant in today’s world.
Honoring a Legacy, Building the Future
In an era when many academic institutions chase prestige and rankings, Antioch stands apart. It continues to echo Horace Mann’s assertion that education is democracy’s strongest defense. His legacy lives on not as a relic of the past, but as a guiding force in the Antioch programs and student projects that continue to win victories for humanity.
