Throughout its modern history, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (known previously as the National Association of State and Land-Grant Universities) has been led by former presidents of major flagship and land-grant universities. Its previous three leaders all hailed from institutions in the Big Ten Conference.
That was no accident: APLU—unlike its sister organization, the American Association of State Colleges and universities, whose members include comprehensive and undergraduate-focused public universities focused as much on teaching as research—has historically emphasized issues such as science policy, international education and funding for agriculture research.
The association signals something of a shift with the new president it announced today: Mark P. Becker, president of Georgia State University from 2009 until his retirement a year ago. It's not that Georgia State didn't pay attention to research under Becker; its federal research funding rose by 150 percent from fiscal 2010 through 2022. He himself was a federally funded public health researcher, and Becker even has administrate stints at two Big Ten universities on his C.V., so in that way he checks the APLU box.
But Georgia State is best known, by far, for its intense emphasis on (and comparative success in) driving its 50,000+ students to complete their educations, increasing its graduation rate by 23 percentage points over a decade and eliminating the gaps between students from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds that are prevalent throughout higher education. Hardly a conference session happens or a major news article is published about strategies for improving student outcomes that doesn't feature Georgia State.
“Public and land-grant universities are the bedrock of American higher education, promoting student success and driving a highly skilled workforce while addressing the needs of their communities and our world through community engagement and cutting-edge research," Becker said in a news release about his selection.
"Mark is a proven national leader in university transformation with a demonstrated impact on the lives of students and communities," Robert Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Champaign and chair of the APL search committee, said in the association's announcement. "We’re extremely excited for him to step into this role at APLU leading exactly this kind of transformative change across the APLU membership.”
This article will be updated.
from Inside Higher Ed | News https://ift.tt/AwFNbjq
No comments:
Post a Comment