From Upheaval to Action: Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis University Presidents Engage in Deeper Conversations on Higher Ed’s Future
Brandeis University President Arthur Levine(opens in new window), a leading scholar of higher education, said during a campus lecture and fireside chat last week at Carnegie Mellon University that American higher education is undergoing a transformation on par with the Industrial Revolution, and institutions that fail to adapt may not survive.
Hosted by CMU President Farnam Jahanian(opens in new window), the conversation explored how demographic shifts, technological change, affordability pressures and declining public trust are reshaping higher education — and what those forces mean for the evolving role of universities in public life.
"First, Carnegie Mellon is one of the world's great universities," Levine said to the audience gathered inside CMU's Rangos Ballroom. "Second, for a very long time, I've been a huge admirer of its president. Third, I just heard about the Learnvia program which has the capacity to produce major, major, much-needed changes in higher education."
The event marked the latest installment of CMU’s Deeper Conversations(opens in new window) series, a university‑wide initiative launched in 2024 to foster constructive dialogue as members of the campus community engage with society’s most complex and consequential issues.
“Today's conversation is especially timely because Arthur's work has helped many of us put language and evidence around what we feel today — that higher education is experiencing a period of real upheaval. At CMU, we've always believed that the future of higher education must be shaped with purpose, grounded in rigorous scholarship, energized by discovery and measured by the impact that we have in the world, but we also have to continuously self-evaluate and figure out how we can do better.” — Farnam Jahanian
Drawing from his forthcoming book, “From Upheaval to Action: What Works in Changing Higher Ed,” Levine reflected on his decades of leadership across academia and argued the rapid shift from a national, analog, industrial economy to a global, digital, knowledge economy is fundamentally altering who higher education serves, what it provides and how it must operate. In the future, he said, the “traditional” student will not be someone who attends college once for four years, but someone who returns repeatedly over a lifetime for reskilling, upskilling and new‑skilling.
"What we've got to do is skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it is." — Arthur Levine
"It's critically important that for all universities, we have one foot in the library and one foot in the street. What that means is, well, the world changes quickly. We keep our foot in the library where you lose traction with the street. We have to restore that traction, and that means that in addition to classroom work, we need to introduce our students to the real world." — Arthur Levine
Pointing to the university’s long‑standing distinction as an innovator, Levine said Carnegie Mellon is positioned not only to survive the upheaval but to lead the way forward, with few institutions able to match CMU’s integration of technology with the arts, social sciences, humanities and business.
“No generation in modern history has had the opportunity we have to rethink and remake the university for a new world. It's a daunting challenge, but the people in this room — at Carnegie Mellon — should embrace it and lead higher education into the future.” — Arthur Levine
Prior to his lecture, Levine met with student leaders in The Posner Center for Special Collections(opens in new window) for a candid discussion about leadership and the student experience at CMU.
Luis Garcia, a doctoral student in the College of Fine Arts(opens in new window) and Graduate Student Assembly vice president of Academic Affairs, spoke about the importance of engaging thoughtfully with differing perspectives.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be in rooms where I don’t always agree with others but we can still have a productive conversation, try to understand each other, try to meet in the middle. It’s what we need the most these days.” — Luis Garcia
Amanawit Assefa, a fifth year senior in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences(opens in new window) and director of organizations for Student Government, reflected on discovering her leadership style through service at CMU.
“Leadership isn’t about being the loudest. It’s about listening and serving others.” — Amanawit Assefa
Levine engaged with faculty during a deans’ faculty roundtable lunch in the Danforth Lounge of the Cohon University Center, hosted by Richard Scheines(opens in new window), Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Kirsten Martin(opens in new window), dean of Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy(opens in new window).
"Amid the shifting landscape of higher education, these conversations are the foundation of student success. We engage in this work to ensure that the door to educational opportunity remains open for all." — Michael Smith(opens in new window), professor of information technology and public policy
