A Glen Hiemstra futurist keynote for the Society of College and University Planning, March 2013. Highlights the need for universities to fundamental re-examine their core purposes.

1. what is your image of the future?

2. three future questions…
 What is Probable?
 What is Possible?
 What is Preferred?

3. If you don’t go far enough back in memory
or far enough ahead in hope, your present
will be impoverished
Dr. Ed Lindaman
President, Whitworth College 1970’s

4. historic mission of
higher education
• credentialing
• furthering knowledge
• sustaining meritocracy
• arguing for the good life
• self-perpetuation
• a physical place for learning

5. Do not limit your children to
your own learning, for they
were born into a new time.
Ancient Proverb

6. • demographic dynamics
• economic inequality
• technology acceleration
• climate change impacts

7. Higher education
specific...challenges
• erosion of meritocracy
• research under attack & buying
science
• private good vs. common good
• cost/benefit of university degree
• learning and the gift economy
• emerging relationship economy
• internet and learning

9. children of the screen do not
accept old limitations...
Based
on:
Gerd
Leonhard

10.  Median age of native-born
Latinos is 18
 Median age all Latinos is 27
vs. 42 for non-Hispanic
whites in U.S.
 67,000 U.S. Latinos turn 18
each month, (93% are
citizens)
 40% of U.S. population
growth 2012-2030 will be
Hispanic (77% of growth will
be minorities)

11. There is one rule for the industrialist and
that is: Make the best quality of goods
possible at the lowest cost possible, paying
the highest wages possible.
Henry Ford

13. h.p://stateofworkingamerica.org/chart/swa-­‐wages-­‐figure-­‐4n-­‐college-­‐wage-­‐premium/

14. driving forces:
income gap economics
• technology
• global commerce
• public policy
• values shift

15. technology
acceleration

16. global warming

17. Disappearing Arctic

18. Higher education
specific...challenges
• erosion of meritocracy
• research under attack & buying
science
• private good vs. common good
• cost/benefit of university degree
• learning and the gift economy
• emerging relationship economy
• internet and learning

19. higher education its own investment...
for the local community
•for every $1 invested in the California State
University system, the system returns $4.41...
•universities bring jobs & revenues from economic
activity and events in local communities...
•on top of all that, universities provide the talent
pool for local businesses, which also attracts new
businesses to the area.

20. must find new and better ways organize
communities to enable advanced learning
for millions.
knowledge value needs…..knowledge

21. the preferred future challenge
To save themselves Americas universities need to
go back to the drawing board and reinvent
themselves anew...among the questions to ask...
1. What does America need from us? What is the
purpose of higher education now?
2. What have we been good at in the past? What are
we doing that is of no use, what should we let go
of?
3. What are the basic values we wish to promote?
How do we best do that?
4. Whom do we serve...students, corporate funders
and employers, government, our own careers?

22. what is your image
of the future?

23. the future is not
something that
just happens
to us
the future is
something we
do

24. thank you for your time
for more information
www.futurist.com
glen@futurist.com
www.twitter.com/glenhiemstra
www.facebook/glenhiemstra
research and analysis assistance by Sara Robinson