American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)

#AACUCLASS’s opening plenary session brought together thought leaders who are redefining higher education's purpose in an era of profound change. Keynote speaker José Luis Cruz Rivera, president of Northern Arizona University, told attendees that #highered must “move from prestige to purpose, from silos to systems, from resistance to reimagination.” Thank you to the speakers and panelists (pictured left to right): Amy Johnson, Old Dominion University; Joshua Brown, University of Oxford; Dilcie Perez, Ed.D., California State University; Kate Drezek McConnell, AAC&U; Jorge F. Figueroa Flores, Ph.D, Texas Woman's University; José Luis Cruz Rivera, Northern Arizona University; Mary Ann Villarreal, AAC&U

“No gift is big enough to compromise institutional values,” says Forum on Transformational Leadership panelist Jonathan Purvis, CFRE, vice president for advancement at Butler University. #AACULEAD

At AAC&U’s Forum on Transformational Leadership, panelists are discussing how to create effective partnerships for fundraising—model practices and pitfalls. “Academic leaders have an important role in stewardship,” says Jennifer Malat, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of New Mexico. #AACULEAD

Welcome to day one of #AACUCLASS! Excitement is building for today’s pre-conference workshops, opening plenary, and welcome reception.

"This is the moment to focus on how higher education can truly equip students for a lifetime of engaged democratic citizenship," writes Elizabeth C. Matto, director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, acting director of the Center for Youth Political Participation, and a research professor at Rutgers University. ➡️ Read her perspective in #LibEdMag: https://ow.ly/Eo0l50VpOrT #HigherEd

AAC&U, American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), and The Phi Beta Kappa Society affirm our support for free inquiry and expression at the Smithsonian Institution: https://ow.ly/KbI950VskPu

#LibEdMag got Gold! 🏆 AAC&U's Liberal Education received a 2025 Gold Trendy Award for Annual Quarterly Magazine or Journal! Presented by Association TRENDS, the annual Trendy Awards honor the best marketing and communications pieces in the association and nonprofit community. Congratulations to Editor-in-Chief Christen Aragoni, Associate Editor Marilyn Cooper, advisory board members, and contributing writers! Read the latest issue: https://ow.ly/xjBN50Vp79y

Did AAC&U’s “AI Week” webinars spark ideas for tackling the challenges and opportunities AI presents in courses, curricula, and #AI? Take the next step! Form a campus team and apply to the 2025–26 AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. Applications are due May 30. Learn more: https://ow.ly/mIeV50VpFiK #GenAI #HigherEd

“It’s very easy to dismantle and tear apart. It’s much harder to rebuild. And the fiscal costs of getting rid of something, chopping it, and then realizing we made a mistake there, and we have to rebuild this, are much higher than working to make legitimate, robust improvements within an existing framework,” says AAC&U vice president for curricular and pedagogical innovation Kate McConnell, describing a potential “law of unintended consequences” resulting from higher education funding cuts. The Chronicle of Higher Education: https://ow.ly/wUhh50Vqu9Q

What’s standing in the way of STEM reform on your campus? Whether it’s curriculum, colleagues, or something else, the AAC&U TIDES Institute will guide you in examining and addressing these issues head-on. Registration closes on April 18: https://ow.ly/oMa850Vkf0I #STEMEducation