OPINION COMMENTARY:

The merits of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are being fiercely debated on university campuses and elsewhere in society. Dr. Judi Brown Clarke, a chief diversity officer at a public research university and Olympic medalist, advocates for incorporating Olympic values and game theory into DEI initiatives thereby creating inclusive campus environments.

Former college president Brian Rosenberg explores the pressing need for change in higher education and why the industry is resistant to even discussing the crisis it faces. He paints a stark picture of an industry at a crossroads, highlighting the urgent need for innovation, adaptation, and a reevaluation of structures and practices to continue fulfilling its essential societal role.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Achieving racial equity has gone beyond a moral imperative to become an economic imperative for this nation. Peter Williams explains how the Supreme Court’s decisions on affirmative action and student loan debt makes the problem worse.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

When the doors of college were reserved for whites only, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) gave African Americans the education they deserved and the strength to rise above bigotry. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions that throttle affirmative action, 2021 Harvard ALI Fellow Terry Edmonds reminds us of the role HBCUs played in the past and the expanded role they may play now.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Studies suggest that too many young people believe what they are learning is not interesting and has no connection with life beyond the classroom. Courtney Welsh and Scott Hefter suggest new models and programs that would allow youths to structure their own curricula.

FUTURE OF WORK SERIES:

Quality jobs that provide local living wages and equitable access to career pathways have become a critical part of the “future of work” conversation. Richard Kane and Barry Puritz of the Harvard Business School Club of New York’s Skills Gap Initiative, and Kenneth Adams, President of the LaGuardia Community College, discuss the creation of a non-degree program that is providing life-changing career pathways for individuals from low-income communities.

College completion drives economic outcomes for Black and Latinx students in the US. Students from vulnerable communities can realize their college goals with “right fit” educational experiences. Lesley Poole, CEO, and Vincena Allen, Chief Growth Officer, of The SEED Foundation discuss their approach to ensuring college success for underrepresented students.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

As the United States falls behind other developed nations in building a workforce that fuels competitive innovation, Ruthe Farmer, founder and CEO of a non-profit fund focused on diversity and inclusion in tech proposes a plan with a high return on investment: low-income students in their last mile of earning a technical degree.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

The education technology market is booming around the globe, with software tools aimed at organizing and delivering academic content dominating the market beyond hardware. Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, calls for the edtech market to refocus its purpose on providing connection, not just content.

A conversation with historian, teacher and activist, Professor Timothy Patrick McCarthy, on the importance of embracing an honest reckoning with history, battling the culture wars in schools, and liberation dreaming in order to realize our best aspirations and intentions for public education.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Bob Levey provides a personal perspective on how individual institutions and organizations must also wrestle with the complex problem of homelessness within their own communities.

THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION SERIES:

A conversation with John B. King, former Secretary of Education and President and CEO of The Education Trust, on the Biden/Harris administration's first 100 days in the education domain.

Reflecting on three decades of social impact work on the University of Maryland Baltimore Country campus and in the community, President Freeman Hrabowski, Peter Henderson, and Anthony Lane recognize the wide-ranging benefits of this engaged, solutions-oriented approach to education and community building.

Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the path to economic opportunity in the United States has become less clear as workers’ careers have taken increasingly non-traditional routes. Mike Meotti and Drew Magliozzi paint a compelling portrait of how technology can carve new tracks and create new ways of working.

POST-ELECTION SERIES:

Paul Reville, Professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education and former Secretary of Education for Massachusetts, discusses the education legacy of the Trump administration, potential policy changes under the Biden-Harris administration, and the need for equitable funding and strategic approaches to address the challenges facing the education system, promoting equity and opportunity for all students.

The majority of American colleges and universities are caught between two powerful and opposing forces: the compelling need to change and the structural resistance to change. Brian Rosenberg, President Emeritus of Macalester College, provides a compelling example of innovation in Africa and what the US education systems can learn.