Higher Education in the United States: From Origins to Outlook

Reception to follow, from 1:15 to 2:00 p.m.

As part of a special speaker series marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, we reflect on the pivotal role higher education has played in shaping the nation’s intellectual, civic, and economic development, from Penn and other early colonial colleges to the vast, diverse university system that drives innovation and opportunity today.

Looking ahead, institutions face mounting pressures from rising costs and rapid technological change to deepening questions about their purpose and impact on society.

With opening remarks by Penn President J. Larry Jameson and a conversation moderated by Penn GSE Dean Katharine Strunk, this timely discussion will convene former university presidents Mark Yudof (C ’65, L ’68), Elaine Maimon (CW ’66, G ’67, GR ’70), and John Silvanus Wilson Jr., along with Nicholas Lemann, to explore the issues confronting higher education today and the possibilities that will define its future.

J. Larry Jameson, President of the University of Pennsylvania and Trustees University Professor

Mark Yudof (C ‘65, L ‘68), Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, former President of the University of California, former Chancellor of the University of Texas, and former President of the University of Minnesota

Elaine Maimon (CW ’66, G ’67, GR ’70), Higher Education Columnist at The Philadelphia Citizen, former President of Governors State University, former Chancellor of University of Alaska Anchorage, and former Chief Executive Officer of Arizona State University West Campus

John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., Executive Director of the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership at Penn GSE, former President of Morehouse College

Nicholas Lemann, Staff Writer at The New Yorker, former Dean of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Katharine Strunk, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania

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