ACE convened the inaugural Higher Education Futures Forum in Washington, DC, on Feb. 13, bringing together seven distinguished higher education leaders for a thought-provoking exploration of the long-term future of higher education.Led by David A. Stone, vice president for Research at Oakland University and president of the Institute for Transformational Education and Responsive Action in a Technoscientific Age, the forum fostered discussion on how higher education might evolve over the next 50 to 100 years. Stone was joined by Hironao Okahana, vice president and executive director of ACE’s Education Futures Lab, and Lindsey Myers, director of ACE’s Learner Success Lab, in facilitating a four-hour session focused on developing proactive and responsive strategies for emerging challenges.
The forum built on the foundation laid by two recent ACE white papers authored by Stone and Robert C. Scharff, Higher Education After Artificial Intelligence: An Invitation to a New Kind of Conversation About the Future and Having a New Kind of Conversation in a New Way. These papers argue that traditional, reactive approaches to higher education challenges are insufficient for addressing profound technological and societal changes, advocating instead for a more experientially grounded perspective.
Participants identified several critical areas where current frameworks may no longer suffice, including:
- Higher education’s evolving relationship with the economy;
- The traditional model of faculty training;
- The definition of being “highly educated” in the age of artificial intelligence;
- The commodification of access to higher education;
- The role of an ethic of care in institutional decision-making; and
- The effectiveness of current accountability and governance structures.
“The inaugural Higher Education Futures Forum was exactly what higher education needs right now,” reflected participant Elaine Maimon. “At this pivotal moment we must adopt new perspectives to maintain values while questioning our approaches.”
Looking ahead, Stone outlined plans to conduct a series of one-on-one deep dive discussions with higher education leaders on key themes from the forum, followed by virtual sessions to broaden participation and gather additional perspectives and topics.
This initiative underscores ACE’s commitment to not only addressing the immediate challenges facing higher education but fundamentally rethinking how institutions can evolve to meet the needs of future generations through co-emergent approaches that transcend traditional disciplinary and methodological boundaries.
Founding Participants:
- Joe Bertolino, president, Stockton University
- Jon Harbor, interim chancellor, Purdue University Global
- Mark Hagerott, chancellor, North Dakota University System
- Richard Helldobler, president, William Paterson University
- Dennis Holtschneider, consultant, Nygren Consulting
- Amber Johnson, assistant vice chancellor and chief of staff, University of California, Berkeley
- Elaine Maimon, president emerita, Governors State University