Letter from the President Archives

V6I2: Letter from the President

As I have watched the unfolding events in America since October 7, particularly the heartbreaking and traumatizing incidents of antisemitism and islamophobia, I have wondered, how is it that some institutions seemed to have been caught completely unawares and become reactive, while others appeared to take this in stride and managed the dissension with constructive engagement of the various factions. What we have learned is that these latter institutions take a long view of such situations and deployed planned and thoughtful approaches that included hosting dialog and constructive discourse, which brought groups together focused on the similarities, rather than on differences, as a way to address extant challenges.

V6I1: Letter from the President

The key to achieving viability and sustainability is for colleges and universities to demonstrate the value proposition of higher education – student outcomes – to the American public. This will require us to reimagine and reengineer higher education, so it is laser-focused on student success and closure of equity gaps, while ensuring accountability and transparency.

V5I4: Letter from the President

During the last several months, I have engaged in conversations with an array of people inside and outside of academia on issues related to what is incumbent on the higher education enterprise to promote student success and close equity gaps; every one of these individuals, regardless of political stripe, agreed that access, belonging, and success are a meaningful and effective way to frame the conversation.

V5I3: Letter from the President

Space, like governance, is for the most part still unknown, has lots of secrets, is inscrutable, and people on Earth are disconnected with and oblivious of it. And yet, Space affects everything we do on Earth, not too dissimilar to governance and governing boards affecting every aspect of an institution’s being.

V5I2: Letter from the President

There is no one-size-fits-all model to create the student-centric, transformative educational ecosystem to promote community and a sense of belonging: It is context and mission dependent. However, effective programs share many elements.