As 2025 comes to a close, higher education is at an inflection point. Political pressure, rising costs, and the dizzying pace of technological change are putting new stress on an already beleaguered system. It’s tempting at a time like this to obsess over the precarious present, but it’s worth pausing for a moment to consider the past. With the benefit of hindsight, what trends and developments of the past 25 years have proved to be the most consequential for higher education? More simply put: How in the heck did we get here?

Related Reading

Explore the Quarter-Century Project (The Chronicle)

A Year of Challenges and Uncertainty, as Told Through Data (The Chronicle) 

Behold, the Decade of Monsters and Men (The Chronicle) 

U. of Richmond Leader Pushes City to Face Its Slave History (The Chronicle)

Guests

Edward L. Ayers, professor of the humanities and president emeritus at the U. of Richmond 

Sarah Brown, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education 

Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education