Dr. Guiyou Huang is president of Western Illinois University. Appointed to the role this year, he is focused on increasing student attendance and retention, and encouraging University innovation. Prior to this, he spent nearly four decades at educational institutions in China and the United States. In this conversation, Dr. Huang reflects on his unexpected path into the higher education sphere - how he never initially intended to become a teacher, nor a University president, and what then attracted him to the sector; explores the wide variety of barriers that he feels are currently standing in the way of potential students feeling University is right for them; and explains the work he and his institution are doing to drive forward inclusivity, and remove some of the current obstacles for the next generation of college-bound students.

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