Lawrence University President Mark Burstein will be one of four invited panelists participating Sunday, March 15 in a discussion sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The program — “Just Another Business?” — will examine the new wave of financial challenges that colleges are facing today, the controversial counter moves that college leaders are implementing in response and how colleges can preserve their mission while improving their financial sustainability.
The by-invitation-only event for a select group of college leaders will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Council of Education in Washington, D.C.
Representing the perspective of liberal arts colleges, Burstein will be one of only two college presidents on the panel. He will be joined by Susan Herbst, president of the University of Connecticut.
Burstein spent nine years as executive vice president at Princeton University leading efforts to enhance campus life and modernize operations and infrastructure before assuming the presidency of Lawrence in 2013. He recently wrote a guest commentary that was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “The Unintended Consequences of Borrowing Business Tools to Run a University.”
In his commentary, Burstein warned that care must be exercised when borrowing strategies from the business sector to help institutions streamline to avoid jeopardizing the values of the academy.
Also on the panel will be Tressie McMillan Cottom, a Ph.D. candidate and expert on for-profit colleges, and John Curry, a director at Deloitte Consulting.
Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the best-selling book “American Higher Education in Crisis? What Everyone Needs to Know,” will serve as the panel’s moderator.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
