“We are in a time of urgency, that higher education has to address the societal issues of a new majority of students, of democracy at risk, and we can’t wait”
Dr. Elaine Maimon is president of Governors State University, University Park in Illinois. She’s also the author of a book recommending changes for higher education entitled ‘Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation’. In this episode, Elaine explains her transformative work to turn the university into a place that celebrates innovation and experimentation. She describes why she rails against the principle that not everyone should go to college, and explores the effectiveness of the university’s ‘Family Development Centre’ which offers courses to parents of infants and preschoolers, to set them up for college in the future. Elaine has strong feelings on the need for reforming our approach to divisions between areas of education, like STEM versus the liberal arts, and says we need to address the challenges of financial restrictions. She says it will take real courage and leadership, but addressing societal issues within higher education in the US is crucial – that democracy is at risk, and there’s no time to wait.
February 24 2020
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