Looking Forward in Ominous Times

Two Pathways for Urban Colleges and Universities

Abstract

On the whole, futurists usually suffer badly. Unforeseen challenges, new political realities, technological breakthroughs, and cultural patterns shape futures as well as markets. As one realist once said, “real life happens in‑between plans.” I suspect the future reality lies somewhere in between these two possible pathways. The larger point is that higher education can allow other societal forces to predominate in shaping its future or it can challenge itself to find a pathway to a future where its commitment to deep learning will be predicated on our core values of evidence‑based and logical reasoning, openness to new and challenging ideas and educating students to play their roles as creative, ethical, and civic professionals, all necessary for a dynamic economy and a robust, diverse democracy.