Presidential Opinion

Pomona College (CA) President G. Gabrielle Starr writes:  We knew recovering from the learning loss of the pandemic would be hard. The reality is it might require us to rethink education altogether. We might all be better off for it. To help our students move forward, America’s schools and colleges need to turn away from constant drilling for tests and a fixation on “coverage,” the notion that skimming across vast swaths of curriculum somehow makes for a good education.

Virginia Wesleyan University President Scott D. Miller, Ph.D., writes: I am hopeful that our lawmakers and educational leaders will continue working together to find new ways to make a world-class education more accessible and affordable for all students. But I also believe that optimizing existing programs like the Pell Grant will provide immediate relief and life-changing opportunities to those who are most in need of our help.

Macalester College President Suzanne M. Rivera writes: The poet Sarah Kay says, "Sometimes the question is 'or' but the answer is 'and.' "  I've been thinking about this a lot recently while reading numerous essays on whetherincreasing diversity on college campuses is hindering freedom of inquiry and expression.The writers frequently position inclusion efforts on college campuses as a "challenge"that must be managed or overcome. I disagree, and a recent incident on our campusillustrates why.

President Rivera's complete commentary article.

Wesleyan University (CT) President Michael Roth writes:  At a time when misinformation grows more sophisticated and demagoguery runs rampant, the public should be able to turn to higher education for guidance. But there is declining trust in the sector, which has been embroiled in controversies ranging from its high cost, to tensions between academic freedom and religion, to questions about the role of social justice on campus. From Texas to Florida, government leaders have felt empowered to ramp up their war on universities. Critics on the left accuse universities of being the servants of neoliberal corporatism, while critics on the right view them as engines of indoctrination into world views that dismiss the lives of ordinary people. At a time when higher education should be contributing to our public lives, many of its leaders are busy playing defense, or worse, just laying low.

David Wippman, president of Hamilton College (NY), and Glenn C. Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University (NY), write:  With final exams again upon us, students across the country seem more stressed than ever, even as study after study has found they’re spending far less time on schoolwork than students once did.  As educators, our job is to meet students where they are, without sacrificing standards. That requires renewed efforts to foster a culture of learning that prioritizes academic work over other pursuits and ensures that students have access to adequate support services.