1st Edition
Rebuilding Support for Higher Education Practical Strategies for Principled Leaders
This book provides a palette of practical strategies that higher education leaders—administrators, faculty members, academic advisors, and the like—can apply to the task of rebuilding support.
Once closely associated with the common good, higher education is now regarded principally as a benefit for individuals. As a consequence, support for colleges and universities has declined dramatically over the past 50 years, having serious implications for both public and private institutions. After summarizing the erosion of public funding, acknowledging examples of “self-inflicted damage,” and proposing tactics for improvement, this book suggests how to engage natural allies and advocates of higher education, describes three key priorities that every higher education leader should pursue, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining rigorous and conspicuous transparency.
Offering a clear-eyed account of this widely lamented issue and innovative approaches for addressing it, this book is essential reading for new, seasoned, and aspiring leaders in higher education.
1. Clarify What Has Happened 2. Identify and Engage Advocates 3. Repair Self-Inflicted Damage 4. Tell a Positive Story More Effectively 5. Practice Rigorous and Conspicuous Transparency 6. Address the “Silent Discord” 7. Exercise Focused Leadership: Three Paramount Strategies 8. Public Support for Higher Education in a Restored Democracy
Biography
Paul L. Gaston is Trustees Professor Emeritus at Kent State University, USA, and the author of books on the Bologna Process (2010), higher education accreditation (2014), and postsecondary education credentials (2023).
"Higher education, long an engine of economic and social progress, is at a tipping point in terms of public perceptions of both quality and equity. Paul Gaston makes a compelling case for restoring confidence in a transformed higher education system, one that is transparent, student outcomes-focused, and committed to democratic renewal. Gaston convincingly argues that this transformation will not be driven by a handful of elite institutions or visionary leaders, but instead by a diverse array of faculty, experienced administrators, and innovative institutions of all types – each committed to looking beyond what higher education has been, and instead focused on what it must be."
Jamie Merisotis, President & CEO, Lumina Foundation, USA
"Amid burgeoning polarization and partisanship and increasingly demanding constituencies that have catalyzed the politicization of higher education and fueled skepticism about its value, this book creates an ascendant narrative that unequivocally reaffirms college as a public good. In the process, it offers both compelling insights and practical strategies for principled leaders to rebuild trust in higher education’s integrity and effectiveness. Gaston’s urgent call to action couldn’t come at a more critical time, as America’s distinctive tradition of liberal education and democracy itself are imperiled."
Lynn Pasquerella, President, American Association of Colleges & Universities, USA
"Dr. Gaston has achieved a capstone in his life’s work. He argues that effective and committed academic leadership, focused on quality programs and equitable outcomes for students, can restore public faith in higher education and rebuild the public support higher education needs to survive. Quality must be achieved through a curriculum of clear benefit to employers, faculty, and students, one including the liberal arts. Equity must be achieved through a focus on student learning."
Aaron Thompson, President, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, USA
