From providing world-changing research to life-altering career paths, the function of today’s 44 U.S. public university systems seems too self-evident to question. Nevertheless, higher education leaders often must work with their policymakers to defend funding levels—or adapt to budget cuts.
“Many states don’t have a higher education goal or a plan, even though the advanced education of their population is probably the single most important quality that leads to [greater] health, prosperity, etc.,” James Johnsen, a university advisor and former president, says on “The University Business Podcast.”
Johnsen’s new book, Public University Systems, guides campus leaders in working with states to advance social and economic mobility, workforce development, affordability and technological innovation. The goal is to build adaptive strategies that flex with the sector’s perennial challenges: revenue, campus modification and system centralization or decentralization.
“It’s particularly challenging to coordinate and integrate academic programs across university systems,” Johnsen says. “They do so much, but they can do more. This kind of thinking is going to be more and more important going forward.”
As universities get used to new budgets, leaders must keep students at the forefront of decision-making, Johnsen concludes. “If the public doesn’t see the value of those institutions in their state, then they’re not going to support them, and their elected officials won’t support them.”
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