This volume assembles the papers, presentations, and speeches from the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) held in Oxfordshire in 2015. This book is a companion volume to the proceedings of the 1965 inaugural meeting of IAUP, also published by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. The highlight of the 50th Anniversary Meeting was an academic conference at Oxford University on the theme of “Higher Education in 2065.” Participants were called upon to look ahead to the next fifty years of global higher education, drawing from their academic fields, as well as their leadership experience within and beyond higher education. The resulting collection includes discussions of current trends that will impact the future of universities, as well as discussions of specific challenges likely to face higher education institutions, both generally and in particular regions. Some contributors outline steps that higher education institutions and/or policymakers should adopt today to prepare for those challenges, while others imagine the university of the future. Edited by IAUP secretary-general emeritus Jason Scorza, this book is dedicated to the memory of J. Michael Adams, who served both as president of Fairleigh Dickinson University and president of IAUP, and includes some of his final writings on the topic of the future of global higher education. Founded in 1965, IAUP is the world’s largest association of university chief executives from higher education institutions. Membership is limited to individuals who serve or have served as presidents, rectors, or vice-chancellors at accredited colleges or universities.

The US higher education system is on the verge of a revolution, so some observers claim. Archibald and Feldman, leading analysts, provide an incisive overview of the challenges facing and possibilities for America's universities and colleges in their training future generations. And they demonstrate that our higher education system is resilient and adaptable enough to weather the internal, external, and technological threats without changing campuses beyond recognition. The Road Ahead for America's Colleges and Universities examines the threats posed to the current health of higher education by rising tuition and falling government support, as well as from new digital technologies rippling through the entire economy. Some predict disaster, pointing to high costs, exploding debt, and a digital tsunami that supposedly will combine to disrupt and sweep away many of the nation's higher education institutions, or change them beyond recognition. Archibald and Feldman provide a more nuanced view. They argue that the bundle of services that four-year colleges and universities provide will retain its value for the traditional age range of college students. Less certain, Archibald and Feldman argue, is whether the system will continue to be a force for social and economic opportunity. The threats are most dire at schools that disproportionately serve America's most underprivileged students. At the same time, growing income inequality reduces the ability of many students and their families to pay for higher education. Archibald and Feldman suggest a range of policy options at the state and federal level that will help America's higher education system continue to fulfill its promise.