Dive Brief:
- If higher education institutions are to adapt and properly equip students for life after graduation, "we must become much broader in our participation and be willing to answer the difficult, sticky questions we have in our society," urged Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, during a speech he delivered at the 2018 American Council on Education annual meeting after receiving the ACE Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Hrabowski pointed out that "two-thirds of Americans today have still not graduated from a four-year institution" and underscored the prevailing thinking of the day that higher ed doesn't matter. "We must tell our story" and showcase a collective commitment to creating pathways, so that people should not have to confront a situation "of just getting a job or getting an education," he said.
- Part of accomplishing that mission, Hrabowski said, is focusing on the pillars of college success, which includes "engaging the community, building the faculty and rich nurturing relationships" and evaluating the effectiveness of efforts to make sure everyone can participate in the educational process. We have desegregated campuses, but have yet to truly integrate them, said Hrabowski, who grew up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement.
Dive Insight:
As conservative skepticism has grown over the value of a liberal arts education, leaders in the industry are having to take extra steps to really prove the necessity of their institutions for local and greater communities. Hrabowski said the purpose of higher education is fundamentally to provide an opportunity for growth and access for students, and this narrative has been downplayed — which is why it is absolutely important, he says, that industry leaders start sharing "their stories" of purpose.
Paul J. LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University, shared a similar sentiment, stating that fundamentally institutions are "in the business of hope," and executives need to do a better job of explaining that ideal:
"Our future hinges on whether we have ambitious, socially connected, networked, savvy kids who have hope or who are hopeless. Because, it's in their hopelessness that breeds the roots of civil discontent and discord that we see in so many parts of the world. When we give them education and tools to better their lives, we are in the business of hope and we are in the business of making the future better," said LeBlanc. He added, "higher education is the engine of social mobility and the engine of social justice. And, that's what we do everyday collectively."