This article explores the history of the university as a modern social institution through the epistemological framework of crisis. Starting from the historical understanding that the university has always‐already been in the throes of crisis, and that such crisis (or crises) are cemented into the conceptual architecture of both the university itself and the inherently promiscuous nature of knowledge

This article examines what colleges and universities have to do if they wish to remain relevant. Many students graduating college today lack critical thinking skills. One reason for this is that academic faculty themselves lack some important skills, which include: 1) an appreciation of uncertainty; 2) respect for other disciplines; and 3) an understanding of what true diversity is all about. All of

A number of factors have contributed to the crisis in higher education, including the long‐term transformation in funding. In this article, I argue that neoliberalism can explain many of the processes leading to our changing commitment to colleges and universities and the cost increases that this change has produced. A number of neoliberal assumptions firmly rooted in conventional wisdom have contributed

Public higher education in the United States is being challenged, as never before, by numerous conditions that need to be addressed if the public college and university systems are to survive and fulfill their responsibilities to the American public. Student enrollment at these institutions has been on a significant downward trend for a full decade. There has been a discernible decline in the esteem

Institutional diversity has long been recognized as a signature strength of the American system of higher education, yet the sector contributing most to this remarkable feature—small and midsized private colleges—currently finds itself under significant financial pressure as a result of recent social and economic disruptions. To overcome such challenges, campus leaders must understand the market positioning

Immigrant and undocumented students face significant barriers in accessing and obtaining a postsecondary degree. The anti‐immigration agenda of the Trump administration and its impact on higher education made this issue of paramount concern. In this article, we review issues at the intersection of immigration and postsecondary education. First, we define the population of interest, with special attention

This study explores higher education and the ways in which the shutdown caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic have accelerated the evolution of online education. This movement from face‐to‐face (F2F) education to a virtual environment was forced and unplanned. It can be viewed as a stress test for digital teaching and learning in the higher education system. The study addresses course conversions and the

Despite advancements in online education, misperceptions persist that create obstacles to the integration of online classes in higher education. This essay refutes misconceptions about online education and highlights key components of a strong online course. As a result of the pandemic, it became apparent that there is a conflation between “school” and “education” that has prompted contradistinction

In this article, I assess the cost‐value crisis facing institutions of higher education; as the cost of higher education grows, students grow increasingly skeptical of the value of their degrees. The COVID‐19 pandemic has accelerated this crisis as institutions across the country have been forced to move to a fully or partially online model of instruction. In an effort to reduce costs, institutions

This article explores the impact of COVID‐19 on the higher education crisis and its implications for workforce preparedness and the future of work. It takes an integrative look at the evolving role of three primary actors involved in higher education: traditional universities, corporate universities, and educational technology companies, before, during, and after the pandemic. We conclude with recommendations

This essay examines the idea of work in the Catholic social tradition. Following introductory comments about the Christian vision of work found in the writings of St. Paul and other early Christian authors, the essay provides seven claims as a summary of how work is treated in modern Catholic social teaching. Based on those summary claims, a vision of what good work in the Catholic tradition looks

The highly anticipated publication of Karol Wojtyła’s Katolicka etyka społeczna (KES) in 2018 provides a novel and important basis for understanding the economic thinking of Pope John Paul II. The text is comprised of Wojtyła’s extensive lecture notes from the 1950s on the topic of Catholic social teaching and spans almost 500 pages. KES illustrates the future pope’s deep concern for economic justice

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, John Paul II asserts the principle of the priority of labor over capital. The purpose of this article is to examine this principle. The conflict between labor and capital is often noted as an essential part of capitalism. There is a long tradition of assigning more significance to labor than to capital. In fact, the classical economists argued that labor determined

How work is understood and undertaken is a function of particular philosophical and theological assumptions. A meditation on work from the perspective of Catholic social thought must begin with the key articles of the Christian faith, namely, belief in the Trinity and belief in the Incarnation. Human dignity is profoundly grounded in this divine reality. Human persons are made in the image of a triune

Human capital is the set of productive knowledge, skills, and traits that individuals possess. Productive knowledge and skills are typically learned through education and work experience. Character traits matter both for the application of knowledge and skills and for their acquisition in the first place. In the past 100 years—and with enormous social consequences—the economy has transitioned to human

The potential link between Catholic social teaching (CST) and the theoretical developments associated with new institutional economics (NIE) are explored. The emphasis is on the contributions of two Nobel Prize winners in economics—Douglass C. North and Elinor Ostrom—and on the work of political scientist Vincent Ostrom. By adjusting the neoclassical presumptions dominating modern economic theory to

Catholic social thought (CST) has obvious resonance with universal basic income proposals, due to the tradition’s insistence on basic needs as human rights, comfort with government redistribution, and preference for programs that promote the agency of individuals and local communities, among other similarities. However, some CST scholars believe basic income challenges dearly held values of the tradition

The polarization of the debate about artificial intelligence (AI) pulls in two mutually exclusive directions of either complete takeover of future jobs by omnipotent algorithms or an absolute bliss with robots at work while humans reap the benefits of endless vacation. Add this to conflicting views of work as either a disutility to be minimized or as an essential component in human flourishing, and

This article provides a new perspective on the value of work and recommends ways to respond to labor market failures exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic and by increased automation. We consider the human right to work, the dangers of pursuing short‐term efficiency, and the use of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for inclusive economic innovation. We conclude with recommended policies

Societies once could choose between changing direction or dealing with climatic disaster; now it is necessary to do both at once. The best‐laid plans for mitigation would be hard enough to fulfill in a stable climate, but they will be vastly harder in the climate chaos ahead. If simultaneous mitigation and adaptation are still achievable, such a difficult balance cannot also take on the burden of supporting

In biophysical terms, such as energy return on investment (EROI), energy sources for the global economy have grown more expensive over the last few decades. This trend is likely to be more pronounced in the near‐term future as conventional oil and gas are depleted and difficult‐to‐extract unconventional oil and gas become a larger part of the fossil‐fuel supply. On the one hand, this will lead to “energy

Renewable‐energy technologies have exhibited rapid price drops in recent years, leading to hopes that such technologies will rapidly replace the entire fossil‐fuel‐energy sector. But renewable‐energy systems have been manufactured in a fossil‐fueled infrastructure. Renewable energy has been functioning as a relatively minor adjunct to the overall energy system rather than displacing fossil fuels. If

Our present era of high‐energy modernity will likely end over the course of the 21st century, as fossil hydrocarbons wane and new energy technologies fail to compensate. Long‐term trends of urbanization will reverse and a migration back to the countryside to regions of high biocapacity will ensue during the coming decades of energy descent. Food will become a central and organizing concern for de‐industrializing

Regenerative agriculture is both an attitude and a suite of practices that restores and maintains soil health and fertility, supports biodiversity, protects watersheds, and improves ecological and economic resilience. It focuses on creating the conditions for life above and below ground and takes its cues from nature, which has a very long track record of successfully growing things. By re‐carbonizing

Seed diversity and soil preservation are the foundations of healthy agriculture. Over many generations, farmers have developed varieties of wheat, rice, corn, and other crops that are adapted to local growing conditions. Industrial‐chemical agriculture has abandoned that local knowledge, replacing seed diversity with genetically uniform crops that require large doses of fertilizers and chemical poisons

As the primary purveyors of food within most neighborhoods, food retailers—particularly grocery stores—are key determinants of health. Grocery stores are also an important venue for food producers to access their customers. Over the previous 100 years—and more rapidly over the previous 40 years—ownership among grocery retailers has become concentrated in fewer firms. As a consequence, grocery stores

In much current thinking about the necessary and rapid transition to a carbon‐emissions‐free energy system, there is implicit acceptance of the high‐tech, high‐energy nature of the current economy. But by asking deeper questions about this economy, we reveal new opportunities as well as new challenges. First, throughout most of history, both production and consumption were dramatically influenced by

This article proceeds on the basis that the cost of energy will rise in coming years and decades as the age of fossil energy abundance comes to an end. Given the close connection between energy and economic activity, we also assume that declining energy availability and affordability will lead to economic contraction and reduced material affluence. In overconsuming and overdeveloped nations, such resource

Cargo bikes—bicycles made to carry both goods and people—are becoming increasingly common as an alternative to automobiles in urban areas. With a wider and heavier body, cargo bikes often face problems even in the presence of cycling infrastructure, thus limiting their possibilities of route choice. Infrastructure quality and the route choices of cyclists have been well studied, but often solely based

The shipping industry needs to decarbonize over the coming decades, but there are competing visions about how that will happen. While major shipping companies are looking to potential new fuels, including ammonia, other disruptors are already shipping small quantities of boutique goods, emission free, on sailboats harnessing the power of the wind. They are a reminder that all global trade used to travel

We describe an approach to educating for systemic change in energy systems by integrating technical knowledge of solutions with reflection on paradigms and norms, facilitated by experiential and art‐based forms of learning. The course, “Power Systems Journey: Making the Invisible Visible and Actionable,” is part of the University of Minnesota interdisciplinary grand‐challenge curriculum. Students take

Private ownership of nature’s gifts—water, air, sunlight—stands in the way of solving the collective problems of the 21st century. In the case of sunlight, common ownership through community solar trusts can overcome both the inequities and the inefficiencies of investor‐owned utilities (IOUs) with legal monopolies. Those monopolies function with the same arrogance as aristocrats did in the past, but