Ethical PD is a call to action for all involved in teacher professional development
Key questions that unleash powerful PLCs
GenAI and cultural competency: New priorities in teacher preparation
For more news on teacher PD, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub
Teachers are superheroes. Every day, they rise to the challenge, pouring their hearts into shaping the future. They stay late to grade papers, show up early to tutor struggling students, and spend their weekends planning lessons that inspire young minds. They do this because they believe in their mission–a mission to change lives, ignite passions, and build a better world.
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We are again in uncertain times. We again find ourselves dealing with sudden changes and uncertainty. We seem to be in a state of constant change and ambiguity.
In today’s evolving educational landscape, effective student assessment goes beyond multiple-choice tests and letter grades. According to a recent study, over 60 percent of educators believe traditional assessments fail to fully measure student understanding.
Holden, my 21-month-old, has fallen in love. His early morning snack and “couch time” includes a dose of “Tiger!” This is toddler for, “Mom, turn on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.”
The COVID-19 pandemic left an indelible mark on K-12 education, placing immense pressure on teachers as they adapted, literally overnight, to new methods of instruction.
Spring brings not only showers and flowers, but it also brings the opportunity to interview for new education positions. Preparing for an interview involves several key steps that can significantly impact the outcome.
STEM careers are on the rise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in STEM occupations is expected to grow by 10.4 percent from 2023 to 2033, compared to just 3.6 percent for non-STEM occupations.
The U.S. Department of Education is giving state education agencies 10 days to certify that their schools do not engage in any practices that the administration believes illegally promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
COVID had already killed thousands of people in other countries and was spreading in the United States when a top federal health official said schools should prepare to offer “internet-based teleschooling” in case they had to close for a period of time.
More than half of educators (62 percent) are already making use of AI at school, with more than one-quarter using it daily for work purposes, according to a Twinkl survey of more than 3,500 U.S. teachers.
Many math tasks involve reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These language demands can be particularly challenging for students whose primary language is not English.
Change has become the norm in our high-speed world
How school leaders can manage and control emotions
Em-pathy, not un-pathy, in school leadership
For more news on navigating change, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub
We are again in uncertain times. We again find ourselves dealing with sudden changes and uncertainty. We seem to be in a state of constant change and ambiguity. The causes are different, but the feelings–and often our immediate reactions to these events–are the same.
More News from eSchool News
Teachers are superheroes. Every day, they rise to the challenge, pouring their hearts into shaping the future. They stay late to grade papers and show up early to tutor struggling students.
In today’s evolving educational landscape, effective student assessment goes beyond multiple-choice tests and letter grades. According to a recent study, over 60 percent of educators believe traditional assessments fail to fully measure student understanding.
Holden, my 21-month-old, has fallen in love. His early morning snack and “couch time” includes a dose of “Tiger!” This is toddler for, “Mom, turn on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.”
The COVID-19 pandemic left an indelible mark on K-12 education, placing immense pressure on teachers as they adapted, literally overnight, to new methods of instruction.
Spring brings not only showers and flowers, but it also brings the opportunity to interview for new education positions. Preparing for an interview involves several key steps that can significantly impact the outcome.
STEM careers are on the rise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in STEM occupations is expected to grow by 10.4 percent from 2023 to 2033, compared to just 3.6 percent for non-STEM occupations.
The U.S. Department of Education is giving state education agencies 10 days to certify that their schools do not engage in any practices that the administration believes illegally promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
COVID had already killed thousands of people in other countries and was spreading in the United States when a top federal health official said schools should prepare to offer “internet-based teleschooling” in case they had to close for a period of time.
More than half of educators (62 percent) are already making use of AI at school, with more than one-quarter using it daily for work purposes, according to a Twinkl survey of more than 3,500 U.S. teachers.
Many math tasks involve reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These language demands can be particularly challenging for students whose primary language is not English.
Streamlining school communication empowers all district stakeholders
The dos and don’ts of parent-educator communication
Female district leaders target back-to-school priorities
For more on school communication, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub
As technology trainers, we support teachers’ and administrators’ technology platform needs, training, and support in our district. We do in-class demos and share as much as we can with them, and we also send out a weekly newsletter. We coordinate a lot of different training sessions across our many different platforms, and support principals during staff meetings and on professional development days.
More News from eSchool News
Many math tasks involve reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These language demands can be particularly challenging for students whose primary language is not English.
As a career and technical education (CTE) instructor, I see firsthand how career-focused education provides students with the tools to transition smoothly from high school to college and careers.
In recent years, the rise of AI technologies and the increasing pressures placed on students have made academic dishonesty a growing concern. Students, especially in the middle and high school years, have more opportunities than ever to cheat using AI tools.
Math is a fundamental part of K-12 education, but students often face significant challenges in mastering increasingly challenging math concepts.
Throughout my education, I have always been frustrated by busy work–the kind of homework that felt like an obligatory exercise rather than a meaningful learning experience.
During the pandemic, thousands of school systems used emergency relief aid to buy laptops, Chromebooks, and other digital devices for students to use in remote learning.
Education today looks dramatically different from classrooms of just a decade ago. Interactive technologies and multimedia tools now replace traditional textbooks and lectures, creating more dynamic and engaging learning environments.
There is significant evidence of the connection between physical movement and learning. Some colleges and universities encourage using standing or treadmill desks while studying, as well as taking breaks to exercise.
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters. In recent weeks, we’ve seen federal and state governments issue stop-work orders, withdraw contracts, and terminate…
English/language arts and science teachers were almost twice as likely to say they use AI tools compared to math teachers or elementary teachers of all subjects, according to a February 2025 survey from the RAND Corporation.
Higher education is under siege from the Trump administration. Those opposing this siege and the administration’s attacks on democracy would do well to heed the wise advice of Benjamin Franklin given just prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776: “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
This is particularly true right now for college and university presidents.
College presidents come from a tradition based on the importance of ideas, of fairness, of speaking the truth as they understand it, whatever the consequences. If they don’t speak out, what will later generations say when they look back at this dark, dark time?
The idea that Trump’s attacks on higher education are necessary to combat antisemitism is the thinnest of covers, and yet only a very few college presidents have been brave enough to call this what it is.
The president and those around him don’t care about antisemitism. Trump said people who chanted “Jews will not replace us” were “very fine people”; he dined with avowed antisemites like Nick Fuentes and Ye (Kanye West).
Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed the California wildfires of 2018 on space lasers paid for by Jewish bankers. Robert Kennedy claimed that Covid “targeted” white and Black people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. The Proud Boys pardoned by Trump for their part in the January 6 insurrection have routinely proclaimed their antisemitism; they include at least one member who has openly declared admiration for Adolf Hitler.
Fighting antisemitism? That was never the motive for the Trump administration’s attacks on colleges and universities. The motive was — and continues to be — to discipline and tame institutions of higher learning, to bring them to heel, to turn them into mouthpieces of a single ideology, to put an end to the free flow of ideas under the alleged need to combat “wokeism.”
Related: Interested in innovations in the field of higher education? Subscribe to our free biweeklyHigher Education newsletter.
Columbia University has been a prime target of the Trump administration’s financial threats. I’ve been a university provost. I’m not naïve about the tremendous damage the withholding of federal support can have on a school. But the fate of Columbia should be a cautionary tale for those who think keeping their heads down will help them survive. (The Hechinger Report is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based at Teachers College, Columbia University.)
Columbia was more than conciliatory in responding to concerns of antisemitism. The administration suspended two student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, for holding rallies that allegedly included “threatening rhetoric and intimidation.”
They suspended four students in connection with an event featuring speakers who “support terrorism and promote violence.”
They called in police to dismantle the encampment created to protest the War in Gaza. Over 100 protesters were arrested.
They created a Task Force on Antisemitism, and accepted its recommendations. They dismissed three deans for exchanging text messages that seemed to minimize Jewish students’ concerns and referenced antisemitic tropes.
President Minouche Shafik resigned after little more than a year in office. (Last week, the university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, also resigned.) In September 2024, the ADL reports, the university went so far as to introduce “new policies prohibiting the use of terms like ‘Zionist’ when employed to target Jews or Israelis.”
None of this prevented the Trump administration from cancelling $400 million worth of grants and contracts to Columbia — because responding to antisemitism was never the real impetus for the attack.
Was Marjorie Taylor Greene asked to renounce antisemitism as a condition for her leadership in Congress?
Was Robert Kennedy asked to renounce antisemitism in order to be nominated for a Cabinet position?
Were the Proud Boys asked to renounce antisemitism as a condition for their pardoning?
This is an attack on higher education as a whole, and it requires a collective defense. Columbia yesterday. Harvard today, your school tomorrow. College presidents cannot be silent as individual schools are attacked. They need to speak out as a group against each and every incursion.
They need to pledge to share resources, including financial resources, to resist these attacks; they should mount a joint legal resistance and a joint public response to an attack on any single institution.
These days, as many have observed, are much like the dark days of McCarthyism in the 1950s. In retrospect, we wonder why it took so long for so many to speak up.
Today we celebrate those who had the moral strength to stand up right then and say, “No. This isn’t right, and I won’t be part of it.”
The politicians of the Republican Party have made it clear they won’t do that, though most of them understand that Trumpism is attacking the very values — freedom, democracy, fairness — that they celebrate as “American.”
They have earned the low opinion most people have of politicians. But college and university presidents should — and must — take a stand.
Rob Rosenthal is John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, at Wesleyan University.
This story about higher education and the Trump administration was produced byThe Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’sweekly newsletter.
The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.
Small colleges have long played a significant role in shaping American higher education. They may not make national headlines every day, but their impact on students, communities, and the broader landscape of learning is undeniable. That’s why Kent Barnds and I, Dean Hoke, created Small College America. Its mission is to present critical discussions at the forefront by interviewing small college higher education leaders, policy experts, and innovators. The podcast delves into the evolving role of small colleges, their economic impact, innovative strategies for sustainability, and how they can continue to provide a highly personalized educational experience.
Each episode explores the distinctiveness of small colleges—through conversations with presidents, provosts, foundation leaders, and changemakers who are deeply engaged in the work of shaping the future. We focus on the real issues small colleges face—from enrollment shifts and financial pressures to mission clarity, leadership, and collaborative innovation.
Why is now the perfect time for this podcast? Higher education faces unprecedented challenges, and small colleges, with their adaptability and personalized approaches, offer valuable lessons and innovative solutions critical to the broader education landscape.
Our most recent episodes include:
Wendy Sherman Heckler and Chet Haskell – From Otterbein University and Antioch University, respectively these two leaders discuss their groundbreaking collaboration known as the Coalition for the Common Good. It’s a bold new model for partnership between mission-driven institutions focused on shared values and long-term sustainability.
Eric Lindberg—Executive Director of the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio, shares insights into the Foundation’s commitment to supporting small colleges, reflects on his own liberal arts experience, and outlines how strategic philanthropy can strengthen institutional resilience.
Dr. Paaige Turner, Provost and Executive Vice President at Aurora University discusses her transition into the role after serving as Dean at Ball State University. She brings a fresh perspective on leadership, regional relevance, and the evolving communication needs of today’s students.
Upcoming Guests:
We’re excited to welcome several new voices to the podcast in upcoming episodes:
Charles Kim, retired Managing Director at Kaufman Hall and former head of its Higher Education division, now serves on the boards of Augustana College and Westminster College.
Scott Wiegandt, Director of Athletics at Bellarmine University, who helped lead the university’s move from NCAA Division II to Division I.
Karin Fischer, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the Latitudes newsletter, brings deep insight into the global and domestic challenges facing small colleges.
Steve Bahls, President Emeritus of Augustana College and national expert on shared governance, discusses how collaboration can lead to institutional agility and long-term success.
Matthew Ward, Vice President of Enrollment Management at California Lutheran University.
Liz Nino, Executive Director of International Enrollment at Augustana College.
Dr. Marco Clark, President of Holy Cross College at Notre Dame, Indiana.
Whether you’re a small college president, a prospective student, an alum, or simply someone passionate about the future of higher education, we invite you to join us. Each episode of Small College America is a chance to learn, reflect, and engage with the people who are shaping this vital sector.
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or listen directly at https://www.podpage.com/small-college-america/. We hope you’ll tune in. If there’s a story or college you think we should feature, let us know.
Small colleges are changing higher education—be part of the conversation.
Dean Hoke is Managing Partner of Edu Alliance Group, a higher education consultancy, and a Senior Fellow with the Sagamore Institute. He formerly served as President/CEO of the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA). With decades of experience in higher education leadership, consulting, and institutional strategy, he brings a wealth of knowledge on small colleges’ challenges and opportunities. Dean, along with Kent Barnds, is a co-host for the podcast series Small College America.
Like it or not, AI is evolving, and it is cementing its place in education. And the CoSN 2025 Conference is preparing attendees to meet the AI challenge head-on, focusing this year’s conference theme on human leadership in an AI world.
Register here to attend this year’s conference in Seattle.
Ken Shelton, an independent consultant, speaker, advisor, and strategist, opens the conference on Monday, March 31 with his keynote, Reimagining Learning with AI: A Path to Empowerment. Shelton will explore the promises and perils of leveraging AI in education and will delve into strategies for maximizing AI’s benefits while addressing its risks, ensuring that AI becomes a tool for true empowerment in education.
On Tuesday, April 1, panelists Lindsay E. Jones, CEO of CAST, Lindsay Kruse, CEO of All Means All, and Rachell Johnson, director of assistant technology at SCATP, will participate in a general session, Leadership, Not Bystanders, moderated by Sarah Radcliffe, director of Future Ready Learning in the School District of Altoona. Panelists will discuss how can to ensure that no student is overlooked as AI continues to reshape education.
The closing keynote on Wednesday, April 2, Beyond the Algorithm–Building Trust, Access, and Purpose in AI-Enhanced Education, features Richard Culatta of ISTE + ASCD, Victor Lee of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, Pati Ruiz, EdD, of Digital Promise, and Kris J. Hagel of the Peninsula School District. The discussion will focus on ensuring AI enhances, rather than diminishes, human potential in education.
Organizational change management for digital transformation
Spotlight sessions cover cybersecurity and physical security, tackling cell phones in classrooms, top edtech trends in 2025, edtech and AI quality indicators, and FERPA.
Wondering what the CoSN conference has for you?
Chief Technology Officers
Learn proven strategies for getting the dollars you need to build the infrastructure for today and tomorrow
Connect with your peers and build your community of practice
Discover how to stretch scarce resources to make the greatest impact on teaching and learning Instructional Technology Directors
Instructional Technology Directors
Hear about new tools and models for engaging students and personalizing instruction
Strategize about how to bridge the gap between the technical and instructional silos
Improve your leadership skills and how to scale technology beyond islands of innovation
Superintendents, District Teams, and Education Service Agencies
Hear from thought leaders on how to create a vision for digital conversion and continuously improving innovative culture in your district
Learn tips for breaking down the silos and leveraging technology to enable a 21stcentury school system
Share creative and strategic solutions about how to create robust learning environments at school and at home
Industry, Government, and Nonprofit Representatives
Understand what is keeping school system technology leaders up at night
Share information on emerging tools and services for learning
Learn about better strategies and models for implementing, maintaining, and evaluating technology for learning
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
This blog was first published in the Oxford Magazine No 475 (Eighth Week, Hilary term, 2025) and is reproduced here with permission of the author and the editor.
Rachel Reeds’ short but comprehensive book, Surviving and Thriving in Higher Education Professional Services: a guide to success(Routledge, 2025), is both an instruction manual for the ‘professionals’ it was written for and an illuminating account of what they do for the academics and students who benefit. However, Reeds is frank about what is sometimes described as ‘trench warfare’, a ‘tension’ between academics and ‘everyone else’, including differences of ‘perceived status’ among the staff of ‘higher education providers’.
Her chapters begin with a survey of the organisation of ‘UK higher education today’. Then comes a description of ‘job or career’ in ‘professional services’ followed by a chapter on how to get such a post. Chapter 4 advises the new recruit about ‘making a visible impact’ and Chapter 5 considers ‘managing people and teams’. The widespread enthusiasm of providers for ‘change’ and ‘innovation’ prompts the discussion in Chapter 6.
Reeds defines ‘Professional Services’ as replacing and embracing ‘terms such as administrators, non-academic staff or support staff’. In some providers there are not two but three categories, with ‘professional services’ sometimes described as ‘academic-related’ and other non-academics as ‘assistant’ staff. Some academics are responsible for both teaching and research but there may also be research-only staff, usually on fixed-term externally-funded contracts, which may be classified on the sameside of the ‘trench’ as academics. The ‘umbrella carriers’ of ‘middle management’ and ‘dealing with difficult things’ provide matter for Chapter 7. In Chapter 8 and the conclusion there is encouragement to see the task in broader terms and to share ‘knowledge’ gained. Each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading under the heading ‘digging deeper’.
The scope of the needs to be met is now very wide. Government-defined ‘Levels’ of higher education include Levels 4 and 5, placing degrees at Level 6, with postgraduate Masters at 7 and doctorates at 8. The Higher Education and Research Act of 2017 therefore includes what is now a considerable range of ‘higher education providers’ in England, traditional Universities among them, but also hundreds of ‘alternative providers’. Some of these deliver higher education in partnership with other providers which have their own degree-awarding powers, relying on them to provide their students with degrees. These all need ‘professional services’ to support them in their primary tasks of teaching and, in many cases, also research.
Providers of higher education need two kinds of staff: to deliver education and research and others to provide support for them. That was noticed in the original drafting of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 s.65, 2 (b) which approved the use of (the then significant) ‘block grant’ public funding for:
the provision of any facilities, and the carrying on of any other activities, by higher education institutions in their area which the governing bodies of those institutions consider it necessary or desirable to provide or carry on for the purpose of or in connection with education or research.
In what sense do those offering such ‘services’ constitute a Profession? The Professional Qualifications Act of 2022, awaiting consideration of amendments and royal approval, is primarily concerned with licence to practise and the arrangements for the acceptance of international qualifications. It is designed to set out a framework ‘whereby professional statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs) can determine the necessary knowledge and experience requirements to work in a regulated profession (for example nursing or architecture)’. It will permit ’different approaches to undertaking’ any ‘regulatory activity’ so as ‘to ensure professional standards’This is not stated to include any body recognising members of the Professional Services of higher education. Nor does the Government’s own approved list of regulated professions.
The modern Professional Services came into existence in a recognisable form only in the last few decades.The need for support for the work of the ‘scholars’ got limited recognition in the early universities. When Oxford and Cambridge formed themselves as corporations at the beginning of the thirteenth century they provided themselves with Chancellors, who had a judicial function, and Proctors (Procuratores) to ensure that the corporation stayed on the right side of the law. The office of Registrar (Oxford) and Registrary (Cambridge) was added from the fifteenth sixteenth century to keep the records of the University such as its lists and accounts.
The needs to be met expanded towards the end of the nineteenth century. Oxford’s Registrar had a staff of five in 1914. The Oxford and Cambridge Universities Commission which framed the Act of 1923 recommended that the Registrar’s role be developed. The staff of Oxford’s Registrar numbered eight in 1930 and forty in 1958. By 2016 the Registrar was manager to half the University’s staff.
The multiplication of universities from the 1890s continued with a new cluster in the 1960s, each with its own body of staff supporting the academics. A body of University Academic Administrative Staff created in 1961 became the Conference of University Administrators in 1993. The resulting Association of University Administrators (AUA) became the Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP) in 2023. CUA traced its history back to the Meeting of University Academic Administrative Staff, founded in 1961. Its golden jubilees was celebrated in 2011 in response to the changing UK higher education sector. It adopted the current name in 2023.
This reflects the development of categories of such support staff not all of whom are classified as ‘Professional’. A distinction is now common between ‘assistant staff’ and the ‘professionals’, often described as ’academic-related’ and enjoying a comparable status with the ‘academic’.
The question of status was sharpened by the creation of a Leadership Foundation in Higher Education (LFHE) in 2004, merged with AdvanceHE in 2018. This promises those in Professional Services ‘a vital career trajectory equal to research, teaching and supporting learning’ and, notably, to ‘empower leaders at all levels: from early-career professionals to senior executives’ That implies that executive leadership in a provider will not necessarily lie with its academics. It may also be described as managerial.
Reading University identifies ‘role profiles’ of four kinds: ‘academic and research’; ‘professional and managerial’; support roles which are ‘clerical and technical; ‘ancillary and operational support’. The ‘professional and managerial’ roles are at Grades 6-8. It invites potential recruits into its ‘Professional Services’ as offering career progression at the University. The routes are listed under Leadership and Management Development; ‘coaching and mentoring’ and ‘apprenticeships’. This may open a ‘visible career pathway for professional services staff’ and ‘also form part of succession planning within a team, department or Directorate or School where team members showing potential can be nurtured and developed’.
Traditional universities tend to adopt the terminology of ‘Professional Services’. Durham University, one of the oldest, details its ‘Professional Services’ in information for its students, telling them that they will ‘have access to an extensive, helpful support network’. It lists eleven categories, with ‘health and safety’ specifically stated to provide ‘professional’ advice. York University, one of the group of universities founded during the 1960s, also lists Professional Services. These are ‘overseen by the Chief Financial and Operating Officer’ and variously serving Technology; Estates and Facilities; Human Resources; Research and Enterprise; Planning and Risk; External Relations; student needs etc. The post-1992 Oxford Brookes University also has its Professional Services divided into a number of sections of the University’s work such as ‘academic, research and estates’. Of the alternative providers which have gained ‘university title’ Edge Hill (2006) lists seven ‘administrative staff’, two ‘part-time’, one described as administration ‘co-ordinator’, one as a ‘manager’ and one as a ‘leader’.
Reeds’ study draws on the experience of those working in a wide range of providers, but it does not include an account of the provision developed by Oxford or Cambridge. Yet the two ancient English Universities have their own centuries-long histories of creating and multiplying administrative roles. The Colleges of Oxford and Cambridge similarly distinguish their ‘academic’ from their other staff. For example St John’s College, Oxford and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge list more than a dozen ‘departments’, each with its own body of non-academic staff.
In Oxford the distinction between academics and ‘professional’ administrators is somewhat blurred by grading administrators alongside academics at the same levels. Oxford’s Registrar now acts ‘as principal adviser on strategic policy to the Vice-Chancellor and to Council’, and to ‘ensure effective co-ordination of advice from other officers to the Vice-Chancellor, Council, and other university bodies’ (Statute IX, 30-32). Cambridge’s Registrary is ‘to act as the principal administrative officer of the University, and as the head of the University’s administrative staff’ and ‘keep a record of the proceedings of the University, and to attend for that purpose’ all ‘public proceedings of the University’, acting ‘as Secretary to the Council.’
The record-keeping responsibility continues, including ‘maintaining a register of members of the University’, and ‘keeping records of matriculations and class-lists, and of degrees, diplomas, and other qualifications’. The Registrary must also edit the Statutes and Ordinances and the Cambridge University Reporter (Statute C, VI). The multiplication of the Registrary’s tasks now requires a body offering ‘professional’ services. ‘There shall be under the direction of the Council administrative officers in categories determined by Special Ordinance’ (Statute c, VI).
Oxford and Cambridge each created a ‘UAS’ in the 1990s. Both are now engaged in ‘Reimagining Professional Services’. Oxford’s UAS (‘University Administration and Services’, also known as ‘Professional Services and University Administration’) is divided into sections, most of them headed by the Registrar. These are variously called ‘departments’, ‘directorates’, ‘divisions’, ‘services’ and ‘offices’ and may have sub-sections of their own. For example ‘People’ includes Childcare; Equality and Diversity; Occupational Health; Safety; ‘Organisational Development’; ‘Wellbeing’ and ‘international Development’, each with its own group of postholders. This means that between the academic and ‘the traditional student support-based professional services’ now fall a variety of other tasks some leading to other professional qualifications, for example from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Chartered Management Institute or in librarianship and technology.
Cambridge’s UAS (Unified Administrative Service), headed by its Registrary and now similarly extensive and wide-ranging, had a controversial beginning. Its UAS was set up in 1996 bringing together the Financial Board, the General Board, and the Registry. Its intended status and that of its proposed members proved controversial. Although it was described as ‘professional’, the remarks made when it was proposed in a Report included the expression of concerns that this threatened the certainty that the University was ‘academic led’. This prompted a stock-taking Notice published on 20 June 2001 to provide assurance that ‘the management of the University’s activities, which is already largely in the hands of academic staff, must also continue to be academic-led’ and that the ‘role of the administration is to support, not to manage, the delivery of high-quality teaching and research’. But it was urged that the UAS needed ‘further development both in terms of resourcing and of organization’. The opportunity was taken to emphasise the ‘professionalism’ of the service.
With the expansion of Professional Services has gone a shift from an assumption that this forms a ‘Civil Service’ role to its definition as ‘administrative’ or ‘managerial’. ‘Serving’ of the academic community may now allow a degree of control. Reeds suggests that ‘management’ is a ‘role’ while ‘leadership’ is a ‘concept’, leaving for further consideration whether those in Professional Services should exercise the institutional leadership which is now offered for approval.
In Cambridge the Council has been discussing ways in which, and with whom, this might be taken forward. On 3 June 2024 its Minutes show that it ‘discussed the idea of an academic leaders’ programme to help with succession planning by building a strong pool of candidates for leadership positions within the University’. It continued the discussion at its July meeting and agreed a plan which was published in a Notice in the Reporter on 31 July:
to create up to six new paid part-time fellowships each year for emerging academic leaders at the University, sponsored by the Vice-Chancellor. Each fellow would be supported by a PVC or Head of School (as appropriate) and would be responsible for delivering agreed objectives, which could be in the form of project(s).
‘In addition to financial remuneration’, the Fellows would each receive professional coaching, including attendance on the Senior Leadership Programme Level 3. Unresolved challenge has delayed the implementation of this plan so far.
The well-documented evolution and current review of Professional Services in Oxford and Cambridge is not included, but the story of Professional Services told in this well-written and useful book is illustrated with quotations from individuals working in professional services.
SRHE member GR Evans is Emeritus Professor of Medieval Theology and Intellectual History in the University of Cambridge.
Abrupt cuts in federal funding for life saving medical research. Confusing and misleading new guidance about campus diversity programs. Cancellation, without due process, of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants and contracts held by a major university. Mass layoffs at the Education Department, undermining crucial programs such as federal student aid.
All of this, and more, in the opening weeks of the second Trump administration.
The president has made clear that colleges and universities face a moment of unprecedented challenge. The partnership the federal government forged with American higher education long ago, which for generations has paid off spectacularly for our country’s civic health, economic well-being and national security, appears in the eyes of many to be suddenly vulnerable.
America must not permit this partnership to weaken or dissolve. No nation has ever built up its people by tearing down its schools. Higher education builds America — and together, we will fight to ensure it continues to do so.
Some wonder why more college and university presidents aren’t speaking out. The truth is, many of them fear their institutions could be targeted next.
They are also juggling immense financial pressures and striving to fulfill commitments to teaching and research.
But the American Council on Education, which I lead, has always stood up for higher education. We have done it for more than a century, and we are doing it now. We will use every tool possible — including litigation, advocacy and coalition-building — to advance the cause.
ACE is the major coordinating body for colleges and universities. We represent institutions of all kinds — public and private, large and small, rural and urban — with a mission of helping our members best serve their students and communities.
Let me be clear: We welcome scrutiny and accountability for the public funds supporting student aid and research. Our institutions are subject to state and federal laws and must not tolerate any form of discrimination, even as they uphold freedom of expression and the right to robust but civil protest.
We also know we have much work to do to raise public confidence in higher education and the value of a degree.
However, we cannot allow unwarranted attacks on higher education to occur without a vigorous and proactive response.
When the National Institutes of Health announced on Feb. 7 a huge cut in funding that supports medical and health research, ACE joined with the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and a number of affected universities in a lawsuit to stop this action.
ACE has almost never been a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the federal government, but the moment demanded it. We are pleased that a federal judge has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction to preserve the NIH funding.
When the Education Department issued a “Dear Colleague” letter Feb. 14 that raised questions about whether campus programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion would be permissible under federal law, ACE organized a coalition of more than 70 higher education groups calling for the department to rescind the letter.
We raised concerns about the confusion the letter was causing. We pointed out that the majority opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts in the Students for Fair Admissions case acknowledged that diversity-related goals in higher education are “commendable” and “plainly worthy.”
We invited the department to engage with the higher education community to promote inclusive and welcoming educational environments for all students, regardless of race or ethnicity or any other factors. We remain eager to work with the department.
Unfortunately, in recent days the administration has taken further steps we find alarming.
ACE denounced the arbitrary cancellation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts with Columbia University. Administration officials claimed their action was a response to failures to adequately address antisemitism at Columbia, though it bypassed well-established procedures for investigating such allegations. (The Hechinger Report is an independent unit of Teachers College, Columbia University.)
Ultimately, this action will eviscerate academic and research activities, to the detriment of students, faculty, medical patients and others.
Make no mistake: Combating campus antisemitism is a matter of utmost priority for us. Our organization, along with Hillel International and the American Jewish Committee, organized two summits on this topic in 2022 and 2024, fostering important dialogue with dozens of college and university presidents.
We also are deeply concerned about the letter the Trump administration sent to Columbia late last week that makes certain demands of the university, including a leadership change for one of its academic departments. To my mind, the letter obliterated the boundary between institutional autonomy and federal control. That boundary is essential. Without it, academic freedom is at risk.
Meanwhile, layoffs and other measures slashing the Education Department’s workforce by as much as half will cause chaos and harm to financial aid and other programs that support millions of students from low- and middle-income families. We strongly urge the administration to change course and Congress to step in if it does not.
Despite all that has happened in the past several weeks, we want President Trump and his administration to know this: Higher education is here for America, and ready to keep building. Colleges and universities have long worked with the government in countless ways to strengthen our economy, democracy, health and security. We cannot abandon that partnership. We must fortify it.
Ted Mitchell is president of the American Council of Education in Washington, D.C.
Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.
The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.
March 17, 2025, by Dean Hoke: This profile of Whitman College is the sixth in a series presenting small colleges throughout the United States.
Background
Founded in 1859, Whitman College is a private liberal arts institution located in Walla Walla, Washington. Its 117-acre campus blends historic architecture with modern facilities, creating an inviting environment for academic pursuits and campus life. Originally established as a seminary, Whitman transitioned to a secular liberal arts institution in the early 1880s and has since garnered recognition for its academic rigor, liberal arts commitment, and tight-knit community.
Whitman prides itself on a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1, facilitating personalized education. Approximately 1,500 students from across the United States and internationally enroll at Whitman, attracted by its personalized instruction and strong emphasis on experiential learning.
Curricula
Whitman College offers over 45 majors and numerous minors spanning the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Popular disciplines include Environmental Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Economics, and Biology. The curriculum, deeply rooted in the traditional liberal arts, continues to evolve, notably introducing two new majors in Fall 2023: Brain, Behavior & Cognition (Neuroscience) and Ethics & Society, reflecting increasing student interest in neuroscience and applied ethics.
One hallmark program at Whitman is Semester in the West, a unique field-based study experience where students engage directly with environmental and policy research across the American West. Additionally, Whitman’s Encounters Program forms a cornerstone of the first-year academic experience, promoting critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning.
Graduate outcomes at Whitman are exceptional, with nearly 70% of alumni enrolling in graduate or professional programs within five years of graduation. The six-year graduation rate stands at an impressive 88%, among the highest for liberal arts colleges in the Pacific Northwest.
Strengths
Strong Post-Graduate Outcomes: Over 91% of Whitman graduates secure employment or enroll in graduate programs within six months after graduation, highlighting the institution’s effectiveness in preparing students for professional success.
Experiential Learning: More than 80% of students participate in internships, research, or off-campus programs such as Semester in the West and the Whitman in China teaching fellowship, exemplifying Whitman’s commitment to hands-on learning experiences.
Prestigious Recognition: Whitman students consistently win competitive fellowships and awards, including Fulbright grants, Watson Fellowships, and NSF Fellowships. Since 2000, students have secured more than 600 awards.
Sustainability and Outdoor Leadership: Whitman’s Outdoor Program provides extensive opportunities for students to engage in activities like hiking, kayaking, skiing, and environmental stewardship, reflecting the institution’s emphasis on sustainability and outdoor leadership.
Financial Strength and Support: Despite its modest enrollment, Whitman maintains a substantial endowment nearing $800 million. This financial strength enables the college to offer robust financial aid packages, greatly reducing costs for middle-income families and improving access.
Weaknesses
Geographic Isolation and Limited Visibility: Whitman’s location in Walla Walla presents both advantages and challenges. While the picturesque rural setting fosters a tight-knit community, the distance from major urban centers—roughly four hours from Seattle or Portland—can deter prospective students seeking metropolitan amenities. Consequently, Whitman must invest heavily in marketing and recruitment to attract students beyond the Pacific Northwest.
Dependence on Tuition Revenue: While Whitman is financially stable, its operating model remains heavily reliant on tuition, with endowment payouts currently covering around 40% of operational expenses. This reliance necessitates careful financial management and continued growth in the endowment.
Enrollment and Demographic Trends: Like many liberal arts colleges, Whitman faces a national decline in the traditional college-age population, coupled with increased competition for top-tier students. In response, Whitman has significantly expanded merit-based and need-based financial aid packages, currently averaging a tuition discount rate over 50%. To address demographic challenges, Whitman is actively broadening its applicant pool through partnerships with organizations such as the Posse Foundation and Matriculate.
Economic Impact
Whitman College is a significant economic driver in Walla Walla. It is among the largest employers in the region, accounting collectively for roughly 1,600 jobs in Walla Walla County.
Beyond direct employment, Whitman attracts thousands of students and visitors to the area each year, which boosts the local hospitality and retail sectors. Students spend on housing, groceries, dining, and entertainment in town, and their families visit for events like orientation, Family Weekend, and Commencement, filling hotels and restaurants. The tourism bureau has even created guides for families visiting their “scholars” at Whitman, recognizing the economic benefit of college-related travel.
Whitman also fosters long-term regional economic growth through strategic partnerships. A key example is the Gateway Program, in collaboration with Walla Walla Community College, which encourages community college students—particularly first-generation and low-income students—to pursue four-year degrees at Whitman. These initiatives enhance local educational attainment and create a talent pipeline beneficial to the regional economy. Additionally, Whitman engages actively with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, supporting educational and cultural initiatives that enrich the local community.
Enrollment Trends As of Fall 2024, Whitman enrollment is 1,561 students. Over the past decade, enrollment has slightly increased despite national declines in liberal arts college applications and the COVID crisis. To counteract demographic shifts, Whitman has expanded financial aid offerings and enhanced recruitment efforts in the Western U.S., international markets, and underrepresented student populations.
Degrees Awarded by Major In the 2023 graduating class, Whitman College conferred degrees across various disciplines.
Alumni
Whitman College boasts a vibrant alumni network comprising over 18,000 graduates worldwide. Alumni connections are notably strong in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Washington, D.C., providing substantial networking opportunities through programs such as “Whitties Helping Whitties.” This network significantly aids in securing internships, job placements, and mentoring opportunities for current students.
Notable Alumni
Adam West (Class of 1951) – Actor best known for portraying Batman in the 1960s television series.
William O. Douglas (Class of 1920) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice, serving from 1939 to 1975.
John W. Stanton (Class of 1977)- Chairman of the Board Trilogy Partners and majority owners of the Seattle Mariners.
Peter Adkison (Class of 1985) – Founder of Wizards of the Coast, publisher of Magic: The Gathering.
Dorothy Marie “Dottie” Metcalf-Lindenburger(Class of 1997) is a retired American astronaut. She was a high school science teacher when she was selected in 2004 as an educator mission specialist.
Holly Brooks (Class 2004) – Winter Olympian in Nordic Skiing
Endowment and Financial Standing
As of 2024, Whitman College’s endowment is valued at nearly $800 million. While this places Whitman on solid financial footing, the college remains largely tuition-dependent. In the 2024–25 budget year, the endowment payout will cover over 40% of Whitman’s operating expenses, which significantly reduces reliance on tuition revenue.
Whitman College Endowment Growth:
Whitman’s financial aid program has expanded in recent years, aiming to increase affordability and access for students from all economic backgrounds. Forbes 2023 Financial Health Evaluation gave Whitman a B+ grade and a financial grade of 3.345 out of 4.5. Whitman enters 2025 in a favorable financial position.
Why is Whitman College Important?
Academic Excellence: Whitman College maintains a challenging liberal arts curriculum that prepares students for a wide range of careers and graduate studies.
High Graduate Success Rates: With 91% of graduates employed or in graduate school within six months, Whitman produces competitive and well-rounded professionals.
Experiential Learning and Outdoor Leadership: Signature programs such as Semester in the West and the Outdoor Program allow students to engage in real-world learning.
Sustainability and Civic Engagement: Whitman plays a key role in environmental advocacy, sustainability, and community service.
With its strong academic reputation, experiential learning opportunities, and commitment to sustainability, Whitman College remains a leading liberal arts institution in the Pacific Northwest.
Dean Hoke is Managing Partner of Edu Alliance Group, a higher education consultancy, and a Senior Fellow with the Sagamore Institute. He formerly served as President/CEO of the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA). With decades of experience in higher education leadership, consulting, and institutional strategy, he brings a wealth of knowledge on small colleges’ challenges and opportunities. Dean, along with Kent Barnds, are co-hosts for the podcast series Small College America.
Professional growth is often at the top of New Year’s Resolution lists. As educators and education leaders plan for the year ahead, we asked some of the nation’s top female school district leaders to give fellow women educators the do’s and don’ts of climbing the professional ladder. Here’s what they said.
Do:Believe in yourself.
Though women make up 76 percent of teachers in K-12 school settings, just a small percentage of women hold the most senior role in a district. But the climb to leadership isn’t an easy one; women in educational leadership report a range of biases–from interpersonal slights to structural inequities–that make it difficult to attain and persist in top positions.
Professional groups like Women Leading Ed are working to change that by highlighting long standing gender gaps and calling for policies and practices to improve conditions at all levels. Female education leaders are also working to rewrite the narrative around what’s possible for women educators and encouraging their peers.
Among those education leaders is Shanie Keelean, deputy superintendent of Rush-Henrietta Central School District in New York. When asked to share advice to her peers, she said, “You just have to continually push yourself forward and believe in yourself. So very often women, if they don’t check all the boxes, they decide not to go for something. And you don’t have to check all the boxes. Nobody knows everything in every job. You learn things as you go. Passion and energy go a long way in being really committed.”
Nerlande Anselme, superintendent of Rome City School District in New York, agreed: “We have directors in this field, we have coordinators in this field, we have psychologists who are doing amazing work, but they will dim themselves and figure that they cannot get to the top. Don’t dim your light.”
Don’t: Keep your career goals a secret.
When you decide to pursue a leadership position, don’t keep it a secret. While it may feel “taboo” to announce your intentions or desires, it’s actually an important first step to achieving a leadership role, said Kathleen Skeals, superintendent of North Colonie Central School District in New York.
“Once people know you’re interested, then people start to mentor you and help you grow into the next step in your career,” Skeals said.
Kyla Johnson-Trammell, superintendent of Oakland Unified School District in California, echoed: “Make your curiosity and your ambition known. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how that will be received by many of the folks that you work for.”
Do: Find a strong mentor.
A strong mentor can make all the difference in the climb to the top, leaders agreed.
“Seek out a leader you respect and ask for a time where you could have a conversation about exploring some possibilities and what the future might bring to you,” said Mary-Anne Sheppard, executive director of leadership development for Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut.
It’s especially helpful to connect with someone in a position that you want to be in, said Melanie Kay-Wyatt, superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia. “Find someone who’s in the role you want to be in, who has a similar work ethic and a life that you have, so they can help you,” she said.
Don’t: Be afraid to ask questions.
“Start asking a lot of questions,” said Keelean. She suggested shadowing a mentor for a day or asking for their help in creating a career map or plan.
And don’t be afraid to take risks, added Johnson-Trammell. “Could you get me 15 minutes with the superintendent or the chief academic officer?”
Do: Build your skill set and network.
“Increase your impact by developing relational skills and leadership skills,” said Rachel Alex, executive director of leadership development of Aldine Independent School District in Texas.
And cultivate a network, said Heather Sanchez, chief of schools for Bellevue School District in Washington. “We can’t do it alone. Find that network, cultivate that network.”
Don’t: Give up.
“People are always going to tell you no, but that does not stop you,” said Kimberley James. “Continue to live beyond the noise and the distractions and stay focused on what it is that you want to accomplish for our students.”
“I would say to any woman aspiring to any level of leadership that first of all, never sell yourself short,” said Sanchez. “You have it in you.”
Interviews were conducted as part of the Visionary Voices video series. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Megan Scavuzzo, Presence
Megan Scavuzzo is the Vice President of Communications, Policy and Advocacy for Presence, a leading provider of PreK–12 remote special education-related and mental health evaluation and teletherapy services. With a diverse background in strategic communication and advocacy, Megan specializes in crafting compelling narratives that amplify voices across industries. By harnessing the power of storytelling, she aims to inspire action, provoke thought, and spark meaningful dialogue that leads to tangible change and impact.
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