“Higher ed is irrelevant.”
If you opened a newspaper, magazine, or blog this year, you probably read an article with a similar headline. There is a growing sentiment among policymakers, the press, employers, and most importantly, students and their families that our way of doing things is old and stagnant.
But as they say, all press is good press. So we have to ask ourselves this question: how can we make this into good press? As we embark on our fifth installment of SUNY’s Critical Issues in Higher Education Conference Series this October, our discussion will turn to How can we leverage the significant national attention we’ve been receiving to adapt and prove we’re far from obsolete?
SUNYCON 2016 is called “Degrees of Influence: The Forces Shaping the Future of Higher Education.” We’ll take a look at what people are saying about colleges and universities, good or bad, and embrace it all as constructive criticism. Anything and everything is on the table – from diversity to student activism to the cost of a degree and even how we deliver courses. Check out these examples of some of our panels:
- The Travesty of Starving Our Best Public Universities
Brooklyn College’s Jeanne Theoharis gave her in-depth analysis of public university funding in New York to The Chronicle of Higher Education in June. The fiscal climate has changed dramatically in recent years, so where does that leave college leaders in 2016? - It’s Time for Tenure to Lose Tenure
In this Harvard Business Review article from March, a serious discussion on the nature of tenure in today’s faculty-university relationships. What will developments in online education and academic restructuring mean for faculty in the coming years? - The New Language of Protest
This Washington Post feature consolidated interviews of several students from colleges and universities in the Capital Region, with discussions focusing on socio-cultural issues on campuses that are being brought into the national spotlight. Where do students fit into the discussions that have been confined to boardrooms and offices in the past?
We’re excited to take this deep dive and look critically at ourselves through the lens of others. The “Degrees of Influence” conference is the next logical step in our Critical Issues series of tough conversations about where higher education has been and where it needs to go.
The history of SUNYCON
SUNY developed the Critical Issues in Higher Education Conference Series, or SUNYCON, to create a dynamic forum about the status and future of higher education among society’s stakeholders, including scholars; higher education leaders; business, industry, philanthropic leaders, and policymakers. The common thread throughout the conference series and, indeed, the work of the higher education sector as a whole, is the mission to promote social mobility and economic growth through knowledge creation and the delivery of high-quality, accessible education.
As the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, SUNY takes seriously its role in facilitating the idea that exploration empowers colleges and universities to master the challenges of delivering high-quality, affordable education in the 21st century.
In 2011, we focused on the topic of higher education’s contributions to economic development. The following year, we focused on the future of higher education systems. In 2013, we explored big data and all its potential for the higher education landscape. In 2014, we reviewed and considered the themes of change and collective impact. And last year, we discussed building a new business model for the Academy.
Will you join us in New York City, on October 27-28, as we pull back the curtain and expose how we can be better?
