American Consequences - May 2018

2018 OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF PURDUE

One of these years, maybe I’ll be able to begin this letter by reporting that it was a placid, relaxed year across the higher education landscape. Not yet. Again, total enrollments nationwide dropped, by another 1%. This makes a 1 million, or more than a 5%, loss in five years. If it weren’t for the growth in nonresidential online education, the plunge would look even steeper. It’s not yet clear that this is the “tsunami” that Stanford President John Hennessy predicted for traditional residential education a few years back. But it might be, in which case our duty at your university is to identify higher ground and strive to gain safety by reaching it. All the new projects and goals we set for ourselves these days have this basic purpose.

By Mitch Daniels

26 May 2018

Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker