Campus News

National Expert Will Discuss Challenges, Future for Higher Education

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 22, 2014) — A national expert who advises universities and colleges across the country will appear on campus Jan. 28 as part of the "see tomorrow Speaker Series."

David Attis is a practice manager with the Education Advisory Board, a national consultancy that works with colleges and universities across the country. Attis will speak to the UK community twice on Tuesday, Jan. 28. He will discuss research in American higher education at 9 a.m. in Room 206 of the Student Center. He will speak again at 3 p.m. on major trends in education, also in Room 206 of the Student Center.

"Pressures on public funding at both the state and federal level will be a major challenge. The management and budgeting structures at universities work best when revenues are growing steadily. Flat or declining funding will force some very difficult tradeoffs among different aspects of the university’s mission," Attis told UKnow recently. "It will become increasingly important to find activities that can generate new revenues (such as market-driven masters and professional programs) while cutting back or restructuring areas that are seen as lower priorities. It’s very hard to get a diverse university community to agree on a handful of priorities, but the alternative is a watering down of institutional strengths."

Attis is the second speaker in the "see tomorrow Speaker Series," which is highlighting different aspects of UK's new Strategic Plan. Six work groups, comprised of more than 100 faculty, staff and students, are working now on the development of the plan, which will be taken to the Board of Trustees in June.

Earlier this month, John Thelin, a professor of educational policy studies at UK, kicked off the speaker series. The series will continue each month as the strategic plan is developed and after it is implemented.

"The see tomorrow Speaker Series offers a terrific opportunity for the campus community to further engage in this important process," said Provost Christine Riordan. "To be successful, a Strategic Plan needs to be a living document. This series is one part of that effort -- an ongoing initiative designed to include our entire campus in the conversation about UK's future."

The University Senate and Office of the Provost are co-sponsoring the speaker series.

This is part of an ongoing series of articles and stories about "see tomorrow: The University of Kentucky Strategic Plan. Check out the strategic plan website -- (http://www.uky.edu/strategic-plan/) --for the latest information about the compelling vision for UK's future. You can also provide feedback and ask questions at seetomorrow@uky.edu