A Vision for Higher Education

It's time to stop fighting battles of the past

The headlines are the same in nearly every state: massive cuts in higher education budgets, faculty and staff layoffs, tuition hikes and students locked out of a college education because of rising costs. Our nation’s economic distress is taking a huge toll on our colleges, universities and future work force.

Jul 31, 2011 Winnie Comstock-Carlson

C-Level Change

MBA offerings evolve with students and the economy

It’s been said a down economy is a boon for Masters of Business Administration programs. The fact that the region has kept the healthy crop of MBA schools it had in 2007, before the economy turned, and even added one would suggest the maxim holds true. But it’s no free ride.

Jul 31, 2011 Bill Romanelli
(Photo courtesy of UOP)

School Custodian

University of the Pacific ramps up its role in the community

The University of the Pacific arrived from San Jose in 1924, planting a brick-and-ivy educational institution in the heart of the San Joaquin agricultural community. Since then, it’s grown to become the second-largest private employer in the county. But, school officials say, the university can still do more in the business community.

Mar 1, 2011 Howard Lachtman

Working lunch with Brice Harris

More than 40 years ago, Brice Harris entered education leadership and vowed never to use money — or lack thereof — as an excuse for the performance of the higher-learning institutions he served. However, he now insists the California Community Colleges System cannot adequately serve the student population without more state funding.

Jan 1, 2011 Douglas Curley

Expanding the Middle

With California’s unemployment statistics among the worst in the nation, there’s no hotter topic right now than jobs: how to keep, expand and create them. Increasingly, policymakers are focused on so-called “middle-skill jobs.”

May 31, 2010 Winnie Comstock-Carlson