GLOBAL POSITIONING
Essential Learning, Student Success, and the Currency of U.S. Degrees

OPENING NIGHT FORUM
Wednesday, January 26, 7:00-8:15 p.m.

GLOBALIZING EDUCATION

Mark C. Taylor, Columbia University

As described by Mark Taylor, the current state of higher education is unsustainable.  If radical reforms are not made quickly, a growing number of colleges and universities will face financial failure. 

While each school faces unique challenges, the fundamental problems are structural and systemic.  Institutions cannot address these problems by acting independently.  Through creative uses of new media and communication technologies, colleges and universities must form consortia and partnerships with other institutions of higher learning as well as for-profit businesses from the local to the global level. 

This emerging global education network will make it possible to restructure finances, create greater efficiencies, and cut costs. It will also encourage institutions to redesign the curriculum to better serve the needs of students in the 21st century, while expanding educational opportunities for students.

Mark C. Taylor is Chair of the Department of Religion at Columbia University and Professor of Humanities, emeritus at Williams College. His many awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship and, from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Professor of the Year. Professor Taylor is a frequent contributor to the op-ed page of The New York Times; his most recent book is Crisis on Campus: A Bold Plan for Reforming Our Colleges and Universities (Knopf, 2010).