Nearly 50 AASCU presidents and chancellors joined
journalists from The New York Times on August 5 for a frank discussion
about what distinguishes regional comprehensive institutions.
The 90-minute conversation covered a host of critical and
pressing issues, such as how AASCU institutions serve the most vulnerable
student populations including a large share of low-income, students of color
and/or first-generation students; how AASCU institutions are Stewards of Place
and remain central to our communities; and that AASCU institutions move the greatest number of students from the lower
socioeconomic strata to the middle class and beyond.
AASCU presidents encouraged Washington Correspondent Erica Green and
National Correspondent Anemona
Hartocollis to urge editors to expand the paper’s coverage of higher
education and not to focus so heavily on the Ivy League but on the rich fabric
of all of higher education and to tell those stories.
The conversation deepened the journalists’ understanding of
AASCU and the role our colleges and universities play in the lives of more than
3.5 million students.

This screenshot captures some participants in The
New York Times meeting with AASCU presidents and chancellors.