The study released this week at the NCAA’s annual meeting showing that annual spending on sports by public universities in the six big-time conferences like the SEC and the Big 12 passed $100,000 per athlete raises some interesting questions that colleges and universities must address. It is less what the large conferences – call them…

As we move to the last phase of this year’s college admissions cycle, it is useful to look at how selective colleges and universities construct their admission classes. For years, the two fundamental admission building blocks were legacies and athletes.  At selective colleges –especially those with active, loyal and engaged alumni – the practice by…

Apparently as our first act of political will in 2013, we have “kicked the can down the road” to sail the can past the “fiscal cliff” to land somewhere where we can rediscover it in time for the “big fight” in March. And these are the folks who in their wisdom are demanding increased oversight…

In my last post, I wrote on the need for a comprehensive redesign of the collegiate business model.  The numbers don’t work, the model typically addresses incremental budget adjustments at best, and the bureaucratic “mom and pop” shops who administer the budget at many colleges inhibit broader cooperative partnerships that can hold down costs and…

A trustee once told me that perception is reality in higher education.  The comment didn’t require a response but I wish I had made one.  What I should have said is that the truth trumps perception in a world where principle and fairness should always matter most.  In fact, the best leaders are not those…

The pace of change is accelerating within American higher education.  The debates raging over MOOC’s, the impact of specific programmatic strategies like Coursera, the role of for-profit providers, and the arguments laid out recently in defense of the liberal arts tradition illustrate this point.  The Obama Administration’s efforts to increase access and college-going rates and…

As I prepared to take over my duties as president, I sought the advice of a distinguished senior colleague who had experience outside academia and who was used to managing staff as a successful sitting president.  I inquired about how best to proceed as I prepared to assume the leadership of an institution. His recommendation…