We revisit the original article as University Business celebrates the launch of its new website. Five observations stand out brightly as we reconsider the stakeholder question in 2019, as compared to 2005:

Many of the observations about the key role of employer partnering with colleges and universities have gotten traction, and increasingly, we are no longer convinced that workforce development is antithetic to higher education. That's a good thing;
Identifying parents as a stakeholder is now something of a misnomer. While there are some students of traditional age with two parents living under the same roof, the demographics of college students have changed dramatically as have family structures and cultural norms. This means that the stakeholder interest now extends well beyond "parents" and we need to address how to give that observation meaning in practice, not just words;
There are stakeholders not referenced in any detail in the earlier article now with profound influence on and interest in educational institutions. These include alumni/ae, donors, foundations, banks (and other lenders) and governments (local, state and federal) as well as interest groups that appear on and influence campuses and campus life, including but not limited to the "MeToo" movement; and
While not a traditional "stakeholder," the growth of social media has changed how campuses and their leaders operate, both internally and with the larger world. As and when incidents occur on campus like sexual assault, harassment and racial discrimination, these are no longer private events. When leaders on campus say or do something offensive or misguided, it is no longer just a "campus" issue; it is a larger issue with many folks feeling free to chime in and express their views, often loudly and widely; and
With the growth of traumatic events of a wide ranging sort and traumatic symptomology in college students of all ages, a new stakeholder is early childhood students and their teachers; these are individuals who can both influence and effect the higher education outcomes depending on their trauma sensitive responses and the willingness of higher education faculty and staff to listen to the voices "downstream" and understand more fully the students they serve.

It is worth taking these five identified observations—reflective of the intervening almost 15 years since the original article—and developing and expanding on them. If nothing else, these observations show us that while we may criticize higher education as moving slowing toward change and favoring a deeply entrenched set of traditions within the academy, change is happening whether we want it or seek it or embrace it. And, higher education is being forced to change; one has to hope that change is, at the end of the day, for the better for the students it serves and the larger society in which our institutions operate.

Instant Insights /

UB op-ed: Education's many stakeholders (An article revisited)

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