Keep the ‘Public’ in Public Higher Education

As chairmen of the Boards of Higher Education and the University of Massachusetts, we know that keeping the “public” in public higher education is more than a slogan. It is an urgent and essential proposition in a state that lives and dies by its brainpower. By 2018, Massachusetts will lead the nation in the number of jobs—70 percent—requiring a college education. Where will these skilled workers needed for industry sectors such as health care, IT, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing come from?