Reform and Re-invention in Public Higher Education
- PDF / 81,617 Bytes
- 4 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 34 Downloads / 223 Views
form and Re-invention in Public Higher Education George M. Dennison
Published online: 8 January 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
The Imperative for Reform For more than a decade, experts have warned of a widening gap between available revenue and rising costs associated with the array of programs Americans hold dear. The shock of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression has provided new perspective on this warning. Few economists, if indeed any, predict a rapid recovery. At the same time, we must confront another and perhaps even more daunting challenge. Within the course of a few years, the United States has lost its preeminence in terms of the educational attainment of our citizenry, slipping to the second tier; and in all likelihood we will slip farther into the third tier unless we take action. Higher education, however, has the opportunity to make a difference if those involved seize the moment and make the right choices, as President Gordon Gee of The Ohio State University noted in a recent keynote address to the American Council on Education (Gee 2009). To assure that desired outcome, they must revamp how they do their work, which will involve a great deal more than stressing student-centeredness, interdisciplinarity, and adequate funding. In brief, they must engage in reform and re-invention even as they accept the challenge of increasing the portion of American citizens with educational degrees from roughly 36 to 55% (McPherson and Shulenburger 2009). That magnitude of change occurred during the 1960s, thanks largely to the creation of hundreds of community colleges. Does our society have the will to do it again?
George M. Dennison has served as President of The University of Montana for nineteen years and has worked in public higher education for forty years. He received the Ph.D. in History from the University of Washington in 1967 and held positions at the University of Arkansas, University of Washington, Colorado State University, Western Michigan University, and The University of Montana. President Dennison has published a book and several articles on American Constitutional History as well as a number of articles on public higher education. G. M. Dennison (*) The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA e-mail: [email protected]
76
Innov High Educ (2010) 35:75–78
In a very real sense, those involved in higher education have a position at the epicenter of needed change, and what they do will directly affect the response of the states and nation to these challenges. More importantly, failure to act will result in either 1) change imposed from without or 2) the emergence of new institutions capable of responding to the needs of the society. It behooves them to seize the moment and lead a reform and re-invention effort. As Peter Facione said in his keynote address before the annual meeting of the Association of American College and Universities: “It is time for some straight talk — starting with the realization that institutions that cannot adapt, or that cho
Data Loading...
