Why Education Is Important

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Higher education is a critical component of the U.S. economy.

Board members have to confront whether elite institutions can be proper role models for the 21st cntury.

Where are the role models for education’s future?

Congratulations! You have been asked to join the Board of Trustees of your alma mater. Do you know what you are in for?

Higher education is an economic engine and a strategic asset for the United States. In many communities, it is a major employer.

In addition to providing local employment, higher education acts as a stabilizing factor in that it is less sensitive to the ups and downs of economic cycles that most businesses.

Education has been viewed as a critical vehicle to help young people move up the economic ladder. Major innovations like the internet, and mRNA vaccine technology originated in university research.

Being on the board is recognition of your professional stature. You will increase the value of your business network by meeting interesting senior-level people from other industries who serve on your board.

The Costs to You and Society

In the private nonprofit world, it is expected that you make an annual contribution to the institution. Your expected contribution should be explicit before you agree to join.

The economic challenges faced by universities are well known:

Costs for providing services have risen more rapidly than inflation.

With the exception of a small group of institutions with enormous endowments, revenue from tuition funds most annual budgets.

The number of students willing and able to pay the full tuition is declining.

The number international students applying to American universities is decreasing.

Real Change Is Necessary, But.

Given the four factors above, avoiding significant institutional change is not an option. Brian Rosenberg was President of Macalester College and is a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Despite the crisis facing higher education, Rosenberg states that there continue to be almost insurmountable barriers for real institutional change. (2023).

As a member of the board of your institution, you are part of a governance structure. This governance structure consists of the board, the president, and the faculty.

“Faculty members are more inclined to think of themselves as members of a disciplinary guild (history, philosophy, biology, engineering, etc.) than members of a collective body called ‘The Faculty.,” osenberg says.

If they have any institutional loyalty, it is to their department or subsection within their department.

Skepticism and the Faculty

Anyone who has spent time around higher education will have horror stories about how resistant faculty can be to innovative ideas. It is easy to put a psychological spin on their attitude and call them cynical or negative personalities.

We have found that the issue is less psychological than cultural.

During the 900 years between the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Renaissance, it was assumed that spiritual and government leaders were selected by God. Questioning leaders could meet with brutal punishment. The practice continues today in certain countries.

Why Education Is Important

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The beginning of the Renaissance emerged with respected citizens being openly skeptical of authority. The scientific method is an organized approach to finding truth with a systematic culture based on skepticism.

We find that many faculty are privately positive people. In their faculty roles, however, they tend to be skeptical of everything students and administrators say. We view it as an unconscious homage to the Renaissance tradition rather than a personality flaw.

Higher Education Governance Cannot Be Fixed

Regardless of the reason, corporate governance is a stool with three legs. The faculty leg is broken. Rosenberg believes it cannot be fixed.

Rosenberg dismisses the idea that today’s elite universities can serve as models for other schools for the future. The elite institutions have the most at stake in the current system and are the least compelled to adapt.

Prospective board members should look at innovative community colleges and institutions starting from “scratch” in the developing world. Rosenberg praises the innovation of Sterling College in Vermont and the African Leadership University with campuses in Mauritius and Rwanda. These institutions deliberately avoided the traditional higher educational model.

In another example of innovation, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education will now allow colleges and universities to offer bachelor’s degree programs requiring fewer than the standard 120 credits. The new approach allows students to enter the job market faster with less debt. (Burns, 2026).

Interestingly, this institutional change did not originate within higher education; it was imposed. This may also be a change model for the future.

So, congratulations on being asked to join a higher education Board. The work is important to your community and to our economy. It can be a career benefit for you.

While important work, it will likely be frustrating. In 1636, the founders of Harvard College looked to establish a university in the Massachusetts Colony. Medieval institutions in England and Germany served as role models. In the 21st century, higher education directors may have to look at start-up education institutions in the developing world for appropriate role models.

H. Burns. “Mass Opens Door to 3-Year Degrees.” The Boston Globe, A1, February 11, 2026.

B. Rosenberg. Whatever It Is, I’m Against It. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2023.

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