Dr. David L. Buhler announced Tuesday his decision to conclude his service as Utah’s Commissioner of Higher Education effective December 31, 2019. The Board of Regents will commence a national search in the spring. His announcement now will allow time for a thorough search and a smooth transition.

Brandon Bishop, a second-year master’s student at the University of Denver studying higher education with a focus in public policy and organizational change, partnered with SHEEO to write a policy brief about the road to the state higher education executive office.

The state higher education executive officer is the most senior person charged with guiding postsecondary education public policy in their state. Some states have more than one SHEEO, as some represent university governing boards, state community college systems, or state coordinating boards. The SHEEO can be appointed by the governor, or the governing or coordinating board, or hired by an agency head. Additionally, in some states, SHEEOs must meet a range of requirements to attain their position, as is explored later in this brief.

SHEEOs are responsible for maintaining accountability in postsecondary education and providing leadership for postsecondary institutions in their state (Tandberg, Fowles, & McLendon, 2017). SHEEOs work with multiple government agencies, postsecondary institutions, and individuals. They also partner with a variety of key stakeholder groups, including state policy leaders, higher education institutions, parents, and students. By researching prior experience and training of SHEEOs, this brief sheds light on the many roads individuals may take to reach this vital policy position.

Raymund A. Paredes, who built a 15-year reputation for working to support Texas students from underrepresented communities, is stepping down as commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Commission on Aug. 31.

Data reported by the states in the latest Grapevine survey indicate that initially-approved state fiscal support for higher education in fiscal year 2018-2019 (FY19) totaled to approximately $91.5 billion, a 3.7% increase nationwide from fiscal year 2017-2018 (FY18). This continues a trend of modest annual increases in state higher education funding over the past five years.

Full press release can be found here.  

The racial patterns in college completion and educational attainment rates, debt burden, and loan repayment and default rates identified in the Senators’ letter are symptoms of a centuries-old problem that includes and encompasses but also goes far beyond higher education. The root of the problem is our country’s historic and pervasive institutionalized racism. Centuries of intentional and unintentional actions, policies, practices, customs, and patterns are manifested in the extreme racial disparities in wealth, educational attainment, health, and other critical indicators (including those identified in the Senators’ letter). A critical factor underlying the statistics highlighted in the Senators’ letter is our stratified higher education system. For example, while access generally has increased, students of color are increasingly segregated into open-access institutions. This is exacerbated by the fact that even within our public sector, resources are inequitably distributed, with public research institutions receiving more per student in state appropriations than other public four-year schools and public two-year colleges. These differences in resources matter for student outcomes, including completions. Further, students of color are overrepresented and far more likely than their white-majority counterparts to enroll in for-profit institutions, where their likelihood of success is diminished, and debt loads are greater.

Randy Gardner was appointed the 10th Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education in January 2019. As Chancellor, he oversees the state’s public two-year and four-year institutions and Ohio Technical Centers; provides policy guidance to the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly; and carries out state higher education policy.

Governor-elect Ned Lamont has tapped Tim Larson to lead the Office of Higher Education. The office oversees such tasks as administering state financial aid programs and regulating more than 150 postsecondary career schools.

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) announced today that Mr. Michael LeFever will serve as Interim President and Executive Director beginning the first week of January.

Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham tapped Kate O’Neill, the former head of the University of New Mexico’s Taos campus, to head her administration’s Higher Education Department.

Al Bowman, Illinois State University president emeritus, is retiring as executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education at the end of the month.