Reinventing U

In 2025, University of Toronto Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Robert Gibbs, published What Could a University Be?: Revolutionary Ideas for the Future (University of British Columbia Press). Join us for a highly engaging conversation in which Dr. Gibbs recaps the main points of his argument and along the way explores the distinctive value of research university undergraduate educations, generally and in our times, highlights the vital role of the humanities, and offers practical advice as well as visionary insight concerning the institutions and the work to which UERU members devote themselves.

On this episode of Reinventing U, hear from Dr. Richard J. Reddick, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of the Undergraduate College and Distinguished Service Professor in Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Reddick’s book Restorative Resistance in Higher Education: Leading in an Era of Racial Awakening and Reckoning (Harvard Education Press, 2023) shares the wisdom he has gained from over three decades of work on diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational settings. Positioning college campuses as “crucibles for social change,” Dr. Reddick challenges all of us to rethink how we show up as leaders, engaging all members of the university community in the task of creating more equitable learning environments while prioritizing joy, rest, and other restorative acts.

Brian Rosenberg discusses his new book “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It :Resistance to Change in Higher Education” Brian Rosenberg is currently visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. From 2003 until 2020, he served as the 16th President of Macalester College. He is the author of Whatever It Is, I’m Against It:  Resistance to Change in Higher Education, published in 2023 by Harvard Education Press. His articles on higher education appear regularly in The Chronicle of Higher Education and have also appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. He serves as senior advisor and director at the African Leadership University and as a member of the board of the Teagle Foundation.  Rosenberg received his B.A. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in English from Columbia University. Prior to arriving at Macalester, he served as dean of the faculty at Lawrence University and as professor and chair of the English Department at Allegheny College. He is the author of two books and many articles on Victorian literature.

Is a college degree still the quickest path to a good-paying job? That is the question at the heart of Kathleen deLaski’s timely 2025 book, which is the focus of this episode of Reinventing U. As deLaski notes, headlines are dominated by the cost and ROI of a 4-year degree, and more families are asking themselves: Is college worth it? For many Americans, confused and stressed by mixed messages, the answer, deLaski contends, is increasingly: No. But, if college isn’t the guaranteed route to success it once was, what comes next? Who Needs College Anymore? describes the workarounds that could well become the “new normal” for how America prepares for work.

Leading Generously with Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Interim Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Michigan State University

The University Unfettered Public Higher Education in an Age of Disruption Ian F. McNeely Columbia University Press The public university as we once knew it is gone and never coming back. After generations of fickle state support, public universities behave more and more like their private counterparts—charging what the market will bear, offering what consumers demand, competing relentlessly with peers, and managing their own priorities. But looking back on how we got here offers surprising reassurance. U.S. public universities emerged largely intact after a decade of disruption bookended by a financial crisis and a pandemic. Resisting widespread calls for corporate reinvention or “disruptive innovation,” they hewed to their core missions. If anything, exposure to the rigors of competition only enhanced their longstanding commitments to the public good.   READ MORE        

We interview Mary Wright, Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning, Executive Director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, and Professor (Research) Sociology, at Brown University. She is also a former president (2017-18) of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, the U.S. professional association for educational development. The conversation focuses on Wright's new book, Centers for Teaching and Learning: The New Landscape in Higher Education (2023), a study of aims, strategies, tactics, organization, and evaluation approaches for over 1,200 Centers for Teaching and Learning.  UERU members can access an extended version of this episode in MyUERU. A transcript for this episode can be found here. 

In this engaging conversation, Corbin Campbell, Associate Dean at American University, shares insights from her book, Great College Teaching. She discusses how the pandemic has reshaped education and the strong institutional interest in teaching improvement. Corbin outlines her extensive research involving 700+ courses and shares her innovative framework for teaching excellence. She emphasizes the importance of equity in higher education and previews a forthcoming policy playbook aimed at enhancing equity-based teaching across institutions.

Father James L. Heft is a Catholic priest and prominent scholar, known for founding the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies and his influential writings. In a thought-provoking discussion, he addresses the challenges facing Catholic universities, including commercialism and secularism. He introduces the concept of the 'open circle,' advocating for engaging diverse views while maintaining a mission focus. Father Heft emphasizes the value of academic freedom, contrasts living tradition with rigid traditionalism, and promotes intellectual humility as a strength in education.

Colin Potts, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Georgia Tech and President of the Reinvention Collaborative, shares insights on enhancing undergraduate education through research. He discusses how Georgia Tech responded to COVID-19 with innovative solutions and how sustainability and cybersecurity research improved campus operations. Potts emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches and student involvement in knowledge creation, focusing on community engagement and real-world problem-solving.