The Past and Future of Higher Education

Faculty Expert

Katharine O. Strunk

Dean, Graduate School of Education

Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr.

Executive Director of the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership

Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division

Seven university leaders dressed in suits stand in a line smiling in front of a screen that reads Penn | America 250 — (From left) Mark Yudof, former president of the University of California and the University of Minnesota; Elaine Maimon, former president of Governors State University; John Silvanus Wilson, former president of Morehouse College and current executive director of Penn’s McGraw Center for Educational Leadership; Penn President J. Larry Jameson; Nicholas Lemann, former dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism; Katharine Strunk, dean of Penn’s Graduate School of Education; and Ezekiel Emanuel, Penn’s vice provost for global initiatives. Photo: Eddy Marenco

Nearly 400 years into its history in the United States, higher education is facing unique challenges, a panel of former university presidents and deans said during a recent discussion of its future through the lens of the past and the tumultuous present. President J. Larry Jameson opened the conversation with perspectives on Penn’s heritage, dating back to 1740 under founder Benjamin Franklin. Higher education, he said, has been one of America’s most “enduring public goods,” adding that it “has been central to the social, cultural, economics, and technological development of our country and the world.”

Still, he added, solutions are not one-size-fits-all. “We recognize the present moment is also an inflection point,” he said. “One of the great strengths of U.S. higher education is the extraordinary diversity of post-secondary institutions and an equally diverse public need for education.”

The panel, “Higher Education in the United States: From Origins to Outlook,” was moderated by Graduate School of Education Dean Katharine Strunk as part of Penn’s Alumni Weekend events.

It featured Penn alumnus Mark Yudof, former president of the University of California and the University of Minnesota and former chancellor of the University of Texas; alumnus Elaine Maimon, former president of Governors State University and former chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage; John Silvanus Wilson Jr., former president of Morehouse College and executive director of Penn GSE’s McGraw Center for Educational Leadership; and Nicholas Lemann, former dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Read more at Penn Today.

Watch the full video below.