Examining leadership research and trends to help higher education leaders thrive in a complex global environment and are prepared for the challenge of serving complex institutions in the modern world. By ACE staff and guest writers who believe that fulfilling higher education’s mission in the 21st century depends upon a visionary, bold and diverse community of institutional leaders.
In these times of stress, higher education needs to reclaim its democratic role as bridge builder and commit to what might be called a “higher partisanship” beyond partisan warfare—that is, a forceful commitment to the democratic process itself without favoring any particular viewpoint.
Nancy Thomas and Adam Gismondi of the Tufts Institute for Democracy & Higher Education ask higher education leaders to take a stand for student voting rights during these contentious times, engage the big questions about our democracy’s health, and protect academic freedom and the right of educators to discuss political issues with students.
No matter which candidate wins the upcoming presidential election, campus leaders still have a role in maintaining civility, promoting civic engagement, and celebrating the democratic process. Read about how ACE’s new community of practice on civic engagement is helping make the election more meaningful to students.
Based on their work with the University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School Task Force on Graduate Student Mental Health, Sara Abelson, Meghan Duffy, and Janelle Goodwill identify eight ways that university mental health task forces can center equity in their work.
Keeping small colleges and universities functioning through the pandemic matters. Mary B. Marcy, president of Dominican University of California, writes about the steps we can take to ensure these institutions also can thrive after the pandemic is over.
The pandemic has brought with it a lens that allows for better vision of what is vital to student success. AACC President Walter Bumphus writes that that lens is a gift, and now is the perfect time to use it to rethink, redevelop, and re-explore how we provide education.
