College Presidents Meet the Press at Annual Higher Education/Media Dinner
President Shapiro Is Among 11 Academic Leaders to Participate

Barnard President Judith Shapiro (right) with Jodi Hassett of ABC News

New York, N.Y. (October 1, 2002) -- The impact of the war on terror on research and international student recruitment, the fallout from the weakening economy on college budgets and the teaching of ethics at a time of corporate scandals topped the list of concerns voiced at the annual Higher Education/News Media Dinner, held in New York City on Oct. 1. Barnard President Judith Shapiro was among 11 college and university presidents and chancellors who participated in this highly anticipated forum, which brings together academic leaders and national journalists for an evening of frank and thought-provoking discussion.

News organizations represented include The New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Time, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News, CNN, ABC News, Business Week and others.

Scott Jaschik, editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, opened the discussion on the economic state of higher education by asking how tight budgets in difficult economic times will change colleges and universities, in terms of curriculum or facilities, in the coming years. "How will higher education look different a year from now?" he asked.

Most of the academic leaders agreed that need-based financial aid was sacred and that they would find it difficult to make cuts that would impact campus facilities. But there was a consensus that shrinking financial support, whether from sliding tax revenues in the case of public colleges or from declining stock values and their impact on endowments and other financial resources, demanded that schools collaborate more and, taking stock of their unique identities, make certain that they do not replicate programs available elsewhere. Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania, noted, "We all don’t have to be great at everything."

President Shapiro of Barnard, said as resources became more scarce, it was essential for college presidents to focus on the vital core of their mission. "Building a community with a strong sense of common purpose, I think, is what is really important," Shapiro said. "And this depends on our loyalty to an institution."

The forum, which has an earned reputation for forthright discussion of the key issues affecting higher education, was held this year at the New York Press Club in midtown Manhattan. Besides Rodin and Shapiro, the presidents attending included Don Michael Randel of the University of Chicago; Larry R. Faulkner of the University of Texas at Austin; Elaine Tuttle Hansen of Bates College; Richard Celeste of Colorado College; Graham B. Spanier of Pennsylvania State University; Kenneth A. Shaw, Chancellor of Syracuse University; William R. Greiner of the University at Buffalo, State University of New York; Mark Yudof, Chancellor, University of Texas System, and Michael Crow of Arizona State University.

Karen Arenson, higher education reporter for The New York Times, turned the discussion to the fundamental changes in higher education over a generation as a result of information technology. Spanier of Pennsylvania State University noted that email allowed faculty to engage students in ongoing discussion outside the classroom in a meaningful way. "No one has to wait for office hours," he said.

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal questioned whether tightened immigration policy, heightened security and an atmosphere of fear related to the terror attacks a year ago had created a chilled atmosphere for inquiry and research on campus or had diminished efforts to recruit international students.

President Celeste of Colorado College, who is a former U.S. ambassador to India, noted with others that the United States was "virtually unique" in the world in attracting students from abroad to study on our campuses. While the academic leaders said there was no evidence yet that talented students (500,000 international students study in the United States every year) from overseas were coming in smaller numbers, Celeste cautioned that "if we begin to isolate ourselves, this could be a serious problem."

President Randel of the University of Chicago, responded that the free inquiry that is the bedrock of American colleges and universities "is what makes the nation worth defending." Rodin noted that among her faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, she had seen an outpouring of interest in research related to national defense priorities, whether this took the form of research aimed at achieving better fuel efficiencies or of studying the forces of religion in society. "I am struck by the complete lack of cynicism. They have risen to the occasion," she said of scholars at her institution.

Barbara Schoetzau, New York bureau chief of the Voice of America, drew strong response among the presidents of both public and private schools with a question on the high cost of tuition. "Are the top schools losing top students because of the high cost?" she asked.

Chancellor Yodof of the Texas university system stated firmly that a college degree was a bargain, noting that over the course of a lifetime, a bachelor’s degree would mean $1 million more in income for an individual, while professional degrees resulted in an additional $3 million more on average in income for an individual.

The discussion turned especially lively when the subject of college rankings, particularly those of U.S. News and World Report, came up. The suggestion was made that some institutions have based their strategic planning on raising their standing in the rankings. "And that's a major distraction and a major tragedy," said Shapiro.

President Greiner, of the University of Buffalo, agreed. "My guess is most of the institutions in the United States essentially ignore it," he said.

The corporate accounting scandals raised a question from ABC News education reporter Jody Hassett about the teaching of ethics in college and whether new courses or curriculum revisions were needed to confront this issue. Hansen of Bates College, noted that ethical responsibility was an integral part of the "learning and living" that occurs at small residential liberal arts colleges. Shapiro noted that the study of value systems across cultures was part of the Barnard first-year curriculum, required of all students and giving them a strong grounding in ethical principles through history and around the world.

Responding to a question on the mood on college campuses as the nation faced the possibility of a military invasion of Iraq, the presidents said students were increasingly involved in debate and discussion of the issue as part of teach-ins and forums but that they had seen little direct protest of the military plans.

Shapiro, noting that students today have grown up in an increasingly multicultural world, unlike their counterparts a generation ago, said: ''The students of this generation are very focused on the politics of their community, What's difficult for this generation is to think in larger geopolitical terms."
"It was interesting to me," said Shapiro, a cultural anthropologist, "that after 9-11 there was an outpouring of concern for the well-being of their fellow Muslim students here in New York."

Contact: Suzanne Trimel, strimel@barnard.edu, 212-854-7583