Chronicle of Higher Education Audio: Interviews

Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago, talks about his university’s deep ties to Chicago’s South Side—and about how that relationship hinges on education and research, rather than just the university’s resources.

After 25 years of overseeing the Ivy League's athletic conference, the newly retired Jeffrey H. Orleans talks about the future of gender and racial equity in college athletics, and the challenges of making college sports accessible to athletes from diverse backgrounds.

Joe D. May, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College system, explains the need for -- and the political risks of -- a new accountability system that community colleges are developing for themselves.

Many public universities have been hit hard by the recession, including Western Washington University. Bruce Shepard, the university’s president since September 2008, describes some of the tough choices—like eliminating the football program—that he had to make in his first year on the job.

Graham B. Spanier, president of the Pennsylvania State University system, explains why it's more difficult to be president of a public university now than it was just a few years ago, and why today's college presidents are seldom inclined to speak out on political issues.

Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, says public research universities must find new ways to serve students and tackle social problems. He discusses how his institution has taken steps in that direction.

Not every athletics program can be a juggernaut on the order of Ohio State University of the University of Southern California. John R. Thelin, a professor of higher education at the University of Kentucky, says smaller athletics programs often incur significant debt trying to recruit and build like the hegemons of college athletics.

Deborah M. DiCroce, president of Tidewater Community College, describes how enrollment gains and unprecedented national attention are affecting community colleges.

Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College, explains how the recession is putting a strain on Spelman students—and how the college is working to help those students afford their education.

Michael L. Slive, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, says the conference's new television deals with CBS and ESPN will give it the benefits of having its own TV network without the cost of starting such a channel.

Many politicians and observers are looking to community colleges to train people for careers in the new economy. Jane Oates, the Labor Department’s assistant secretary for employment and training administration, describes how the department and the colleges can work together to promote economic development and job training.

Florida International University's incoming president, Mark B. Rosenberg, who is a former chancellor of Florida's public university system, talks about how universities must reconsider their academic offerings to better suit budget realities and student needs.

Beth Kobliner is the author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties. This spring Beth spoke with students on college campuses about how to manage their money. She shared some of what she heard with The Chronicle.

Judith M. Jobbitt, of the consulting company Bentz Whaley Flessner, describes the fund-raising approaches that are getting results and offers advice for development offices as they work through the recession.

Cash-strapped colleges will have to make tough choices in the coming years about staffing, student aid, recruitment, and a host of other fundamental issues. Janice M. Abraham, president of United Educators Insurance, and Peter N. Stearns, provost of George Mason University, describe the courses of action that many institutions will consider.