Do we really need to merge six state college campuses?
Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is smart. No one doubts Greenstein’s pedigree. He was hired to come here a little less than three years ago, straight from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Prior to living in Seattle, Greenstein oversaw academic planning and programs across the University of California system. His doctorate is from the University of Oxford, which he earned on top of two masters from the most selective university in Pennsylvania: Penn.
What we don’t know is if Greenstein understands the rest of Pennsylvania and its more accessible institutions, or if he has his eye on the right questions for our state.
By all appearances he arrived with a process in mind, and has been using our state as a proof of concept for some of his favorite innovations in higher education, from career-ready certificates to stackable credentials. When his hire was announced, an article in Inside Higher Ed forecast the situation we find ourselves in today.
The article noted there would be a move to consolidate. The president of the faculty union mentioned Pennsylvania is near the bottom among states for spending on higher education, at number 47, saying, “We need an articulate spokesperson for what higher education does for kids and for the commonwealth.”
For his part, Greenstein insisted, “I really want to spend as much time as I possibly can on the campuses,” meeting with students, faculty and staff. “Listening and learning are my two number-one priorities.” But we can’t find evidence of listening and learning as much as framing.
I have to admit my distrust of outside, elite expertise comes honestly. My friend’s grandfather once explained to us how governments work. He said it is like cooking a frog. You may know the story. A frog placed into a hot pot will jump out, but if you just slowly turn up the heat on a cool pot, the frog will stay in until it boils.
It turns out the boiling frog story is a myth, but the phenomenon of creeping
normality that it demonstrates is not. Creeping normality describes making major changes acceptable by facilitating them incrementally. And that is how large systems take over.
Since he arrived, Greenstein has been shaping our understanding of the state system in narrow ways, to make incremental changes seem inevitable, all leading toward the merger of six of our state system campuses.
Representing a group of concerned alumni and friends, my concerns, specifically, are:
Greenstein never misses a chance to talk about enrollment declines since 2010. Those declines matter, but 2010 is better understood as an especially high point. Over a 20-year period, enrollment is essentially flat.
The state system under Greenstein needs to communicate the value of investing in public higher education. A study by Baker Tilly indicated each dollar invested in Pennsylvania state universities produced an average return of $10.61 in economic impact.
Pennsylvania does not spend on higher education compared with other states. We’re number 47 out of 50. That’s embarrassing. Greenstein and the PASSHE system must advocate for better funding from the legislature.
Greenstein is smart, and he has some excellent analysis and recommendations. But what he hasn’t done is figure out Pennsylvania’s opportunities for strength and growth, considered the essential role our campuses play in our rural communities, or demonstrated any meaningful commitment to a real public comment period.
Along with other PASSHE alumni and friends, I call on Greenstein and the board of governors to:
1. Ensure the 60-day public comment period he originally suggested would begin as a response to when integration plans were shared. PASSHE must cease consolidation until at least the end of the formal comment period. How far consolidation has already proceeded without meaningful public comment and conversation is an affront to all Pennsylvanians.
2. Better recognize and lead from Pennsylvania’s and PASSHE’s diverse strengths.
We will continue to carefully watch Chancellor Greenstein, and invite friends and alumni to share their voices and keep up with what we learn by visiting our website at papublics.org and completing a survey there.