Professor Rick Geddes is a member of the Committee on the Future of the American University and a professor in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. He can be reached at rrg24@cornell.edu. The views expressed in this article are entirely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of the Committee as a whole.

American higher education today is challenged on so many fronts that I find it challenging to keep up. Bipartisan erosion of trust in higher education is widespread and declining. Federal support for basic research conducted by large U.S. universities, largely unwavering since World War II, now seems unreliable. University teaching and research are viewed by many as hopelessly biased and partisan, which further fosters distrust.

College students seem more focused on getting credentials than on gaining rigorous training across the disciplines that will enrich their entire lives, and universities are facing a demographic cliff in college-age students; the number of 18-year-olds already peaked in 2025 and is now entering a steep and sustained decline. 

Onto this dismal stage is cast the omnipresent specter of artificial intelligence. Whether real or imagined, many believe that AI will upend large swaths of the knowledge worker economy that are (or were) major employers of the college-educated.

One might be tempted to concede defeat and wait for U.S. higher education’s inevitable decline. Fortunately, I see opportunities on the horizon which, if seized vigorously, will allow universities to not only adapt to these challenges but to return to their roots and emerge stronger — and more valuable to society — than ever.

Many students entering college are misreading the job market that will be relevant four years hence. Like the rest of........

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