PHENOM is an enthusiastic endorser of a new national Campaign for the Future of Higher Education – CFHE for short. This grassroots national campaign to support quality higher education was initiated in Los Angeles on January 21, 2011 by leaders of faculty organizations from 21 states. Several PHENOM members attended this planning meeting; Heike Schotten from UMass Boston spoke at the formal campaign launch in May in Washington, D.C.; PHENOM endorsed the campaign at our Annual Meeting in June; and the 2nd national gathering of the Campaign will take place in Boston November 4-6. The mission of this campaign is to ensure that affordable quality higher education is accessible to all sectors of our society in the coming decades.
The initial campaign meeting was initiated by the California Faculty Association, which represents 24,000 faculty at state universities. There was a strong consensus at the meeting that the campaign’s success depends on expanding it beyond faculty, and especially broadening its base to include students, civil rights organizations and others.
The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education is organized around seven core principles that must define quality higher education for the 21st century. Initial work of the campaign includes establishing a “think tank” that can help frame current debates to focus on quality higher education as an essential right for our democracy. Faculty, students and our communities, not just administrators, politicians, foundations and think tanks, need to have a voice to ensure that changes – in emphasis, curriculum, pricing, and structure – are good for our students and the quality of education they receive.
Contact the campaign at info@futureofhighered.org to learn more and join.