The Compact Between States and Public Higher Education

Amanda Adolph, AGB's senior vice president for marketing and communications, shares a few thoughts from the Foundation Leadership Forum in Arizona.

AGB's Foundation Leadership Forum is off to a great start. Yesterday, Hodding Carter addressed over 300 foundation board members, leaders, and sponsors at the opening plenary.

At this morning's opening session, The Compact Between States and Public Higher Education, panelists worried that the ideological divide among state legislators is wider than ever. There is no longer a critical mass of legislators who understand what is at stake and can be convinced of the long-term benefit of investing in higher education. From a state budget perspective, competing demands on shrinking state budgets will continue to challenge higher education, unsurprisingly. (In the next five to ten years, states will need to cover gaps of 260-270 billion dollars.) As the budget situation worsens, it's becoming more evident that schools need to rethink their goals, particularly as they relate to state funding—in other words, institutions have to stop competing for funds and start aligning with the new fiscal environment. 

What is the foundation's role in this shifting economy? 

• Think about fostering entrepreneurial activity that benefits the students, the community, and the region by seeding important projects that can drive economic activity and be a catalyst in the community.
• Work to compel the institution to ask the right questions in order to encourage the profound changes that are necessary to reestablish public trust in our institutions.