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October 15, 2020

Op-ed:  Commitment to high school youth integral to Mansfield legacy

By Deena Mansour

“…a responsible government…will be concerned with the adequacy and equity of the educational opportunities which are available to all young people.”

—Mike Mansfield, Last Chance Press Club, Helena, March 1968

As a responsible branch of government, the University of Montana is committed to providing educational opportunities to all youth. While it is clear that we support university students, it may be less apparent how UM and the Mansfield Center also support high schoolers across the state.

A son of Montana, Mike Mansfield served in three branches of the military as well as the mines of Butte. Inspired by his wife Maureen, he attended UM to became a professor of Far Eastern and Latin American history, our nation’s longest-serving Senate majority leader, and our longest-serving U.S. ambassador in history. Recognizing Mansfield’s commitment to international engagement and ethics in public affairs, in 1983, the U.S. Congress founded the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at UM. In honor of the Mansfields, the center fosters globally minded leaders of integrity in Montana and around the world.

Mansfield’s greatest passion was Montana youth. The center is therefore uniquely positioned to support UM’s mission to transform lives and shape global citizens. Our programs are aligned with UM’s Priorities for Action to place student success at the center of all we do. This commitment is not just to UM students, but also to Montana high school students. Following are just a few of the myriad ways in which we support secondary students through the Mansfield legacy — at no cost to the students:

• Montana High School Juniors as Youth Ambassadors in Korea. We currently seek four Montana juniors to serve as Youth Ambassadors in Project Bridge, a fully funded intercultural youth leadership program. Bi-monthly workshops culminate in a 10-day study tour in Korea in April 2020 and result in a community service project. Applications are now open on our website and close on Oct. 25.

• Mansfield Conference: InnovateHS. Launched last spring, InnovateHS is a biannual conference designed to showcase innovations across disciplines to 250 high school juniors, from eSports to entrepreneurship.

• Mansfield Seminar. A select group of high school students attend monthly sessions hosted by UM faculty on issues in ethical public policy through the lens of leadership and international engagement.

• Travel to Latin America Through Sports Diplomacy. This U.S. Department of State Sports Diplomacy exchange transcends linguistic and sociocultural differences while teaching youth leadership, teamwork and communication skills. After successfully offering travel opportunities to El Salvador and Peru, in 2020 the Center will identify two additional fully funded travel opportunities for Montanans statewide, including high school students.

• Mansfield High School Advisory Council. The center will offer stipends to four area high school students to advise us on the best programs and communications strategies to engage high school audiences.

In Mansfield’s name, these programs empower young people as positive forces in our communities, and engage them in developing cross-cultural understanding, leadership and responsible citizenship. As Mansfield stated to a university audience in May 1968, “We will find... among the young people of this nation, the resources of intelligence and integrity to define the evolving problems of our times. We will find, I profoundly believe, the courage, the conviction, and the concern to face them and to resolve them.”

The University of Montana and the Mansfield Center support Montana youth as they take the lead in resolving the problems of our time.

Deena Mansour is the Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center of the University of Montana.

Originally published in the Missoulian.