Turning big ships or changing large organizations

Doug Lederman:

On what one might call the "vulnerability index" -- how higher education institutions shake out in terms of their financial viability in the short- to mid-term -- the universities represented in a session titled "Remaining Nimble in the Face of External Challenges" at the annual meeting of college business officers here Tuesday are some of the lucky ones.

Unlike some smaller and less-differentiated private and public colleges and universities, public flagship universities like the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Illinois and selective (and highly visible) private institutions like the University of Notre Dame are not only going to survive whatever turmoil higher education faces in the next decade or two -- at least -- they're likely to thrive, too.
But that doesn't mean they can stand pat in the face of the many pressures they (like other colleges and universities) are facing: reduced state appropriations for public institutions, public pressure to control (if not lower) tuition, escalating health care and other costs, and many more. So before a room of 200-plus finance administrators at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, leading officials at Berkeley, Illinois and Notre Dame described how they have been "managing through uncertainty," as Patrice DeCorrevont, national head of higher education banking at JPMorgan Chase, described the environment in which they and everyone else in higher education have been operating.

Related: Madison School Board President Ed Hughes.

Two Madison school board seats will be on the spring 2014 ballot. Ed Hughes and Marj Passman presently occupy those seats. Learn more at the City of Madison Clerk's website.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 19, 2013 12:37 AM
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