Presidents' Trust Symposium

The public and politicians are leveling a wide range of critiques at colleges and universities and their leaders, questioning the value of degrees, the employability of graduates, and perceived liberal bias, among other things. An all-too-common refrain from college officials is “we just need to tell our story better.” That may be a piece of the puzzle, but much more is required: acknowledgement that what the public needs and wants from higher education is changing, and that colleges and universities need to change what they do and how they do it in response.

Knowledge for Freedom programs reach students who have the talent and interest to pursue a liberal education in college but whose chances of doing so are limited by family circumstances, under-resourced high schools, and an incomplete understanding of what the college experience can be. Knowledge for Freedom programs invite underserved high school students to study humanity’s deepest questions about leading lives of purpose and civic responsibility. High school students who typically find themselves shut out from opportunities available to their more affluent peers are provided with a pathway to undertake college-level work in the humanities, to build meaningful relationships with college faculty and college students, who serve them as mentors, and to develop, through practice, civic skills with their peers.

Knowledge for Freedom programs dramatically improve college readiness, admission prospects, and college graduation rates, while building interest in humanistic writing and issues, as well as habits of civic engagement that persist during and after college. Panelists will discuss the implementation and impact (on both students and faculty) of Knowledge for Freedom programs on their campuses, and the imperative role of colleges and universities in opening up the opportunity for all students to think together about humanity’s deepest questions.

In the US, there has been an unprecedented series of legislative intrusions into college and university curricula, programming, and budgeting. Virtually all higher education associations, including AAC&U, have denounced these legislative gag orders and directives, aimed at DEI, CRT, teaching the history of slavery, or the enduring issues of race and gender that divide the country.

The proliferation of government attempts to restrict what can be taught on college campuses and by whom has been joined by a series of setbacks posed by decisions from the US Supreme Court. These decisions gut previous precedents and impact medical education, admissions processes, and student loan debt.

Panelists will address the following questions:

• What can we do as a community of leaders to respond to the politicization of higher education?
• How do we tell the truth about DEI in higher education? Can we lead a narrative change?
• What can be learned from Historically Black Colleges and Universities?
• Can we apply those lessons to predominantly white institutions?
• What can be learned from community colleges? How do we as a community of leaders bolster their enrollment and support?

It's not difficult to find stories of failed college and university presidencies. Books, articles, and local media outlets provide meticulous postmortems of brief leadership tenures; presidencies fraught with conflict, misalignment, shared governance issues, and moral failings. There are many presidents, though, who beat the odds of the national tenure average, leading campuses successfully for years through challenge and success alike. Credo is examining the personal and professional conditions in which a leader can stay and flourish, hoping to answer the question: how do presidents thrive in their roles over time, and how can those considering a presidency or serving in the early years of a presidency build a path to leadership longevity with intention?

In this panel discussion, participants will examine an emerging framework for leading with longevity in higher education and hear from successful leaders about their leadership experience and learnings.