Endicott Center for Civic Participation
Dear Leading Ladies,
In 2025, Endicott College launched the Endicott Center for Civic Participation (ECCP) with the mission to inspire and activate “Citizens of Character” who are committed to productively engaging in our communities and our country. Though it is one of the newest initiatives at Endicott, the ECCP is truly a return to Endicott’s founding principles and values.
On May 2, 1939, Eleanor Tupper and her husband George O. Bierkoe launched their radical idea to educate women for greater independence and to enhance their contributions to the workforce. Endicott College was incorporated with the purpose “to establish and maintain an institution of learning for the education of students in Liberal and Practical Arts and Vocational Sciences.” Its model was an unconventional alliance of liberal and vocational arts that linked the classroom to the real world through off-campus internships.
Tupper was a leading lady of her time. Her innovative model of education and professional development sought to instill in young women the values necessary for responsible citizenship, including character development and service to others. The ECCP builds on Tupper’s leadership through three pillars of activity: Academic & Experiential Learning, Community Service & Engagement, and Public Programming. These three pillars rest atop five core values — People, Respect, Integrity, Community, Engagement — whose acronym spells P.R.I.C.E., because living in a free democratic republic such as the United States of America is not free; every citizen has a price to pay, which is to be a responsible citizen.
A responsible citizen is one who commits to respecting others as equal citizens in a democracy; balances a pursuit of self-interest with sincere care for the common good; engages in honest and respectful exchanges of ideas; and builds trust with fellow citizens.
Being responsible is not always easy, so the ECCP relies on what it has termed the Jefferson-Hamilton Directives to put responsible citizenship into practice. Thomas Jefferson often wrote and spoke about ignorance and apathy being two great pitfalls to a republic. Jefferson’s colonial rival, Alexander Hamilton, wrote in a 1784 letter that when public councils treat their responsibilities like sport we will end up with “a spirit of government that is distracted, feeble, and arbitrary.”
Uniting these two Founding Father rivals, we get the Jefferson-Hamilton Directives:
Be Informed. In 2026, we add “be well and accurately informed.”
Be Engaged. In 2026, we add “be productively and sincerely engaged.”
Take Responsibilities Seriously. In 2026, we add “while not taking yourself too seriously.”
By blending classroom and real-world experiences through its three pillars of activity, the ECCP aims to help students better understand themselves, how the world works in terms of society, the economy, and government, and how they can best plug into that world upon graduation.
In 2026, almost all aspects of life are moving at a pace that presents unprecedented challenges for humans of all ages. But facing unprecedented challenges is not unique. In fact, just over 80 years ago a generation of Americans persevered through the Great Depression and World War II to establish a system that enabled a period of relative peace and prosperity for billions of people. About 80 years before that, in 1865, a generation of Americans persevered through the Civil War to move America closer to its ideals. And 80 years before that, in 1785, the founding generation of Americans persevered to establish this great human experiment. That America is once again at a critical juncture should not be a surprise.
At every prior critical juncture, Americans have generally figured out how to progress toward a more perfect union. By inspiring and activating “Citizens of Character,” the ECCP aims to develop and equip young people with the values, skills, knowledge, attributes, education, and experiences that will enable them to apply good judgment when addressing future challenges and opportunities while maintaining the founding principles and values of the American Experiment.
In the first Presidential Inaugural Address, on April 30, 1789, President George Washington declared that “there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness.” The ancient Greeks believed that achieving eudaimonia (happiness and overall well-being) required cultivation of virtues such as wisdom, courage, self-discipline, and justice. Combining lessons learned from the ancient Greeks and Romans and those from the Founding Fathers of the American Experiment, the ECCP strives to inspire Endicott graduates to “be good” and “do good” for themselves, their families, and their communities, which would then extend to the country.
Be on the lookout for future public programming hosted by the ECCP, including:
October 7, 2026: “How Elections Work,” a civic panel at Endicott College.
October 20, 2026: “Remember the Ladies: Influences of America’s First Ladies,” a Community Conversation at The Cabot in Beverly.
Jason Galui
Director
Endicott Center for Civic Participation (ECCP)
Endicott College