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This statement was approved on November 10, 2023, by the Board of Directors of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. The following principles are intended to guide boards in the governance of colleges, universities, systems, and related foundations; inform them of their roles and responsibilities; and clarify their relationships with presidents, administration, faculty, and others involved in the governance process.
These guiding questions are designed to help board members critically examine their role...
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HIGHER EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY are interdependent. Democracies need informed, creative, skilled, values-oriented, proactive...
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What’s in today’s Briefing? Jewish Americans unimpressed by antisemitism crackdowns. Red tape for Harvard. Reminders that some college presidents are millionaires.
Every day there are new headlines about higher education under fire. Legislators are trying to dictate who can be admitted, what can be taught, withhold approved funding, and even rewrite how boards operate.
In a speech at Hillsdale College on Monday, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon presented what is perhaps the most detailed vision yet for the Trump administration’s approach to higher education.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon laid the most fleshed-out foundation for the Trump administration’s higher education agenda to date Monday, characterizing four-year universities as broken systems that fail to create leaders in an address at Hillsdale College.
In an opinion article, AGB senior fellow and consultant Kevin Reilly writes: “[B]oards in particular can and need to step up to defend America’s researchers in fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics as they follow their expertise to discoveries that benefit the health, economic well-being and national security of our citizens. Boards can assist in warding off politically motivated regulations and budget cuts that senselessly damage this vital progress pipeline.”
Ross Mugler, acting president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, and others said McMahon’s comments “misrepresent the reality on college campuses today” and reflect an “unrealistic approach and assessment of higher education in this country.” He defended the work of college administrators, who he said are trying to do the right things to help students succeed.
“Higher ed isn’t broken; it’s adapting,” he said.