Table of Contents 

Features

Rural Institutions
Embracing Innovation and Location to Overcome Challenges

By David Tobenkin

Rural colleges and universities are finding ways to survive and even thrive despite challenges. The solution, numerous rural college leaders agreed, often lies not in seeking to echo slick urban institutions, but rather in embracing their ruralness in all its dimensions.

Students Are Humans First
Meeting Their Human Needs Helps Campuses Fulfill Their Mission

By Sara Goldrick-Rab

For many colleges and universities meeting students’ human needs is now a matter of survival. It is a strategy that affects whether and how students attend and graduate. It is a way to make institutional dollars go further, manage student debt, and maximize return on investment.

United We Stand
An Urgent Call for Leadership

By Ellen-Earle Chaffee

Responding to new ideological and political intrusions that are mounting against freedom in higher education and democracy is a high-stakes opportunity to impact the outcome of history.

Mind the Civil-Military Gap
Military-Connected Students and the “Demographic Cliff”

By Lesley McBain

The non-traditional student subpopulation of military-connected students deserves attention. This large and varied group can diversify a campus and provide significant enrollment growth—but an intentional and well-resourced strategy comes first.

Unafraid to Tell Our Story
How VCU’s Board, Leadership Built a New Brand

By Carolina Espinal and Grant Heston

More than ever, universities must lean into distinction to describe what they do and why they matter. With so many institutions competing for a shrinking college-age population, brilliant faculty, and scarce funding, the way institutions talk about themselves makes all the difference.

Departments and Columns

On My Agenda
A Statement from the AGB Board of Directors

News in Brief
A sampling of national higher education news

Inside AGB
Mary Papazian, Ph.D. Joins AGB as Executive Vice President

Legal Standpoint
Macro Legal Trends in Higher Education
By Lou Guard

Foundations of Consequence
Reflections from a Foundation Leader
Elizabeth King, President and CEO of the Wichita State University Foundation and Alumni Engagement Team
By Carol Schuler

Forum
Navigating Innovation and Purpose
Sponsored Content
By Altresha Burchett-Williams

Focus on the Presidency
The Democratic Value of Time and Patience
By Katherine Rowe

A Question for Scott Jaschik
To Comfort the Afflicted and Afflict the Comfortable
By Carol Schuler