Q&A With Mary Sue Coleman, Next "see tomorrow." Speaker

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 3, 2014) — The "see tomorrow." Speaker Series will continue on Thursday with Mary Sue Coleman, former University of Kentucky faculty member and former president of the University of Michigan.

Coleman will address the UK community at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Lexmark Public Room of the Main Building.

Mary Sue Coleman led the University of Michigan as its 13th president from August 2002 until she retired in June 2014.

As president, she developed numerous large initiatives that impacted the community, the campus, and future generations of students. These initiatives included enhancing interdisciplinary richness of university, strengthening student residential life, bolstering the economic vitality of the state and nation, increasing the university's global engagement, and encouraging innovation and creativity.

TIME magazine has named Coleman one of the nation’s “10 best college presidents,” and the American Council on Education has honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

In anticipation of her presentation, UKNow asked Coleman the following questions.

1.    What do you plan to discuss in your presentation on the UK campus?

I will talk about the need for America’s universities to be more innovative and entrepreneurial. We are doing great work teaching these values and talents to our students, and I believe we, as institutions, should be just as innovative. The principles we teach students about entrepreneurship are exactly the same principles all of higher education needs to navigate in today’s turbulent waters.

I also plan to leave time for conversation with the audience. I’m eager to hear what is working well at UK and how we can learn from each other.

2.    You were president of one of America’s leading public research universities and have served in senior leadership roles at a number of institutions. How has the role of the presidency changed over time in your judgment?

I see the job of university president becoming more and more challenging. With the extensive reductions in aid from the federal and state governments, coupled with absolute need for higher education to control costs and keep tuition affordable, presidents must be very disciplined and very creative. An educated citizenry matters, and we must do whatever it takes to keep college affordable, accessible and excellent.

Today’s president must be a leader with a talented executive team and a commitment to working with those in business, government and philanthropic circles.  And, more than anything, a president must be dedicated to an exceptional education for students.

3.    What do you think are the most significant challenges confronting higher education, particularly public research institutions?

We are threatened by shrinking financial support from our federal and state governments. And threatened by waning public confidence and those skeptical of our value and our contributions. There is a compact between American society and public higher education that cannot be found anywhere else. I truly believe it is one of the great achievements of our nation. But that compact is frayed and it must be strengthened.  It is frayed because of a divestment in public higher education that threatens our future — threatens it as much as climate change.

4.    With those challenges, what do you think are the prospects for the future?

I am an eternal optimist. No other nation has a system of higher education like ours, and students from around the world continue to seek out an American education. When Congress passed the Morrill Act of 1862, establishing land-grant universities like the University of Kentucky, it launched a public education movement that is a crown jewel of our country and the envy of the world. But to remain so, we as a society must make higher education — and in particular, public higher education — a national priority.