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Navigating the Next Four Years with Ted Mitchell
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The American higher education system stands at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges that threaten its very foundation. In this revealing conversation, Eloy Ortiz Oakley sits down with Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education (ACE), to discuss how colleges and universities across the country are responding to these threats.
Mitchell, whose organization represents over 1,700 diverse institutions, offers a compelling perspective on how higher education is uniting across traditional dividing lines. "Higher ed sticks together, especially in times of crisis," Mitchell explains, highlighting the solidarity forming among institutions from community colleges to elite research universities as they face common threats from policy changes, funding cuts, and declining public confidence.
The conversation takes a deep dive into the devastating impact of recent research funding cuts, which Mitchell calls "one of the single worst policy initiatives" of the current administration. Beyond the immediate layoffs at institutions like Johns Hopkins and hiring freezes at the University of California, Mitchell paints a vivid picture of the long-term consequences: potential medical breakthroughs abandoned, the next generation of scientists left without training, and top researchers fleeing to more welcoming countries.
Perhaps most refreshing is Mitchell's candid acknowledgment of higher education's self-inflicted wounds. From dismal completion rates to opaque admissions processes at elite institutions, he doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable truth: "We've earned some of the disrespect we're being treated with." Mitchell outlines ACE's "Higher Ed Builds America" campaign, which aims to refocus all institutions on their primary mission: student success.
Looking forward, Mitchell offers a compelling vision of education transformed through artificial intelligence—not merely as a technological tool, but as a force that could revolutionize student services, faculty capabilities, and learning itself. His call for integrating humanities scholars into AI development to ensure technology partners with humans rather than replaces them reveals a nuanced understanding of both innovation's promise and its potential pitfalls.
What emerges is a portrait of an education leader determined to guide institutions through turbulent times by returning to higher education's core purpose: creating opportunity and success for all students. For anyone concerned about the future of American higher education—whether educator, policymaker, or citizen—this conversation offers essential insights into the challenges we face and the changes needed to overcome them.
ACENet.edu
https://www.acenet.edu/Pages/dotedu/home.aspx
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By Eloy Ortiz OakleySend us a text
The American higher education system stands at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges that threaten its very foundation. In this revealing conversation, Eloy Ortiz Oakley sits down with Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education (ACE), to discuss how colleges and universities across the country are responding to these threats.
Mitchell, whose organization represents over 1,700 diverse institutions, offers a compelling perspective on how higher education is uniting across traditional dividing lines. "Higher ed sticks together, especially in times of crisis," Mitchell explains, highlighting the solidarity forming among institutions from community colleges to elite research universities as they face common threats from policy changes, funding cuts, and declining public confidence.
The conversation takes a deep dive into the devastating impact of recent research funding cuts, which Mitchell calls "one of the single worst policy initiatives" of the current administration. Beyond the immediate layoffs at institutions like Johns Hopkins and hiring freezes at the University of California, Mitchell paints a vivid picture of the long-term consequences: potential medical breakthroughs abandoned, the next generation of scientists left without training, and top researchers fleeing to more welcoming countries.
Perhaps most refreshing is Mitchell's candid acknowledgment of higher education's self-inflicted wounds. From dismal completion rates to opaque admissions processes at elite institutions, he doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable truth: "We've earned some of the disrespect we're being treated with." Mitchell outlines ACE's "Higher Ed Builds America" campaign, which aims to refocus all institutions on their primary mission: student success.
Looking forward, Mitchell offers a compelling vision of education transformed through artificial intelligence—not merely as a technological tool, but as a force that could revolutionize student services, faculty capabilities, and learning itself. His call for integrating humanities scholars into AI development to ensure technology partners with humans rather than replaces them reveals a nuanced understanding of both innovation's promise and its potential pitfalls.
What emerges is a portrait of an education leader determined to guide institutions through turbulent times by returning to higher education's core purpose: creating opportunity and success for all students. For anyone concerned about the future of American higher education—whether educator, policymaker, or citizen—this conversation offers essential insights into the challenges we face and the changes needed to overcome them.
ACENet.edu
https://www.acenet.edu/Pages/dotedu/home.aspx