The history of post-secondary education in America since World War II has been in many ways a success story, with greater student access a signature feature of the many changes witnessed on campuses large and small. Much work remains to be done in the area of access and affordability, especially in the financial aid system and in standardized testing. But in realizing America's promise for the twenty-first century, in the work of enrolling undergraduates and then empowering and preparing them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change, there is a need to continue to champion and defend the value of different learning environments, from research-intensives and large comprehensives, to small and medium-sized private--"and public"--liberal arts colleges. The author contends that it is time to enlarge people's understanding of the liberal arts college to include the public sector.