The Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education

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Public colleges and universities are key engines of economic growth, innovation, and upward mobility. This project explored strategies to preserve the strength and diversity of institutions of higher education.

Featured publication

Public Research Universities: Recommitting to Lincoln’s Vision—An Educational Compact for the 21st Century

Overview

Public higher education is key to U.S. educational infrastructure and the foundation of competitiveness. As centers of learning, culture, research, and entrepreneurship, these institutions drive social mobility and economic growth. Yet over the past decade, state funding to these universities has declined precipitously, forcing campuses across the country to make difficult choices about institutional spending and resource allocation.

The Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education has considered the implications of reduced state investment in public higher education; assessed the role of the federal government in funding our great public research universities; and developed recommendations for ensuring that public universities continue to serve the nation as engines of economic development and opportunity for Americans from all backgrounds.

The Lincoln Project is named for President Abraham Lincoln to commemorate his role in signing the Morrill Act of 1862, which laid the groundwork for the United States’ public university system.

Lincoln Project Introductory Video

Recommendations

People

Project Chairs

Robert J. Birgeneau

University of California, Berkeley

Academy Member

Mary Sue Coleman

University of Michigan

Academy Member

Advisors

Lawrence S. Bacow

Harvard University

President

Academy Member

Gene D. Block

University of California, Los Angeles

Chancellor

Academy Member

Henry E. Brady

University of California, Berkeley

Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy & Professor of Political Science and Public Policy

Academy Member

Philip N. Bredesen

State of Tennessee

Academy Member

Nancy E. Cantor

Hunter College

Chancellor, Rutgers-Newark

Academy Member

John T. Casteen

University of Virginia

President, Emeritus: University Professor and Professor of English

Academy Member

Jonathan Richard Cole

Columbia University

John Mitchell Mason University Professor

Academy Member

Gray Davis

Governor of California (former)

J. Patrick Doyle

Domino's Pizza, Inc. (formerly)

David B. Frohnmayer

University of Oregon

President Emeritus

Academy Member

E. Gordon Gee

West Virginia University

Matthew Goldstein

City University of New York

Retired Chancellor Em

Academy Member

Donald Graham

Graham Holdings Co

Chairman of the Board

Academy Member

Carl Guardino

Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Jim Hackett

Ford Motor Company

Robert D. Haas

Levi Strauss & Company

Chairman Emeritus, Former President and Chief Executive Officer

Academy Member

Anne Weaver Hart

University of Arizona

Michael Hout

New York University

Professor of Sociology

Academy Member

Kay Bailey Hutchison

U.S. Senate

Senior Counsel

Academy Member

James Albert Smith Leach

University of Iowa College of Law

Chair in Public Affairs, Visiting Professor of Law

Academy Member

Earl Lewis

University of Michigan

Academy Member

Ann Marie Lipinski

Nieman Foundation at Harvard

Curator

Academy Member

George Miller

House Education and Workforce Committee (former Chair)

John W. Rogers

Ariel Investments, LLC

Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer

Academy Member

William Powers Jr.

University of Texas, Austin

Thomas Seibel

Shirley M. Tilghman

Princeton University

President Emerita and Professor of Biology and Public Affairs

Academy Member

Phyllis M. Wise

Colorado Longitudinal Study

Chief Executive Officer, President and Board Member

Academy Member

Frank Yeary

CamberView Partners

Pauline Ruth Yu

American Council of Learned Societies

President

Academy Member

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Publications

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News & Updates

In the News

Jul 31, 2021

Improving Intellectual Infrastructure in American Higher Education

Proponents of the historical understanding of infrastructure think in terms of “hard” physical structures. To achieve real social progress, we must address the “soft” infrastructure that improves our quality of life, beginning with healthcare and education.

Source

The Hill

In the News

Sep 8, 2018

States’ decision to reduce support for higher education comes at a cost

As we enter the third decade of the new millennium, rather than use higher education as a balance wheel in the state budget, lawmakers working with college officials need to develop a new model of public higher education.

Source

The Washington Post

Bulletin

Mar 7, 2018

Priorities for Progress: Advancing Higher Education in America

On October 26, 2017, the American Academy hosted a conversation at the University of California, Berkeley, on "Priorities for Progress: Advancing Higher Education in America," which highlighted two Academy projects – The Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education and the Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education.

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Press Release

Jan 22, 2017

College and University Trustees Urged to Sustain and Strengthen Public Research Universities

Attendees of the 21st Annual Conference of the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities were urged today to consider advancing new strategies to sustain and strengthen public research universities by members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Lincoln Project.

Bulletin

Aug 22, 2016

Public Research Universities: Serving the Public Interest in Michigan

Mark S. Schlissel, Mary Sue Coleman, Patrick Doyle, M. Roy Wilson, and Lou Anna K. Simon participated in a discussion at the University of Michigan about public research universities and their role in serving the public interest in Michigan.

Bulletin

Jun 1, 2016

Lincoln Project Releases Final Report with Recommendations for Strengthening Public Research Universities

The nation’s public research universities serve approximately 3.8 million students each year and perform much of the country’s groundbreaking research.

Bulletin

Jun 1, 2016

From Local to Global: Public Research Universities in the 21st Century

The Academy hosted a meeting at the University of California, Los Angeles, on public research universities in the twenty-first century. The speakers included Gene Block, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, and Kim A. Wilcox.

Press Release

Apr 7, 2016

American Academy of Arts and Sciences Report Recommends Strategies to Sustain and Strengthen Public Research Universities

Public-private partnerships, new sources of revenue among recommendations for strategic directions

Press Release

Mar 22, 2016

New American Academy of Arts and Sciences Publication on the Public Good of Public Research Universities

Public research universities contribute to overall economy, research, and infrastructure in support of students, families, and the nation

Press Release

Feb 4, 2016

New American Academy of Arts and Sciences Publication Examines Challenges of and Opportunities in Funding Model for Public Research Universities

Tuition is the principal revenue source for many of these institutions; Teaching and research remain the two top expenditures.

Press Release

Sep 30, 2015

American Academy of Arts and Sciences “The Lincoln Project” Examines Changes in State Financing of Higher Education

Review of challenges faced by state governments will inform recommendations in support of public higher education.

Press Release

Jun 9, 2015

American Academy of Arts & Sciences "The Lincoln Project" Looks at Challenges and Opportunities at American Public Research Universities

First of five publications examines "Public Research Universities: Why They Matter."

Bulletin

Jun 1, 2015

The Lincoln Project Convenes Regional Forums

In its continued effort to identify common concerns and build consensus for innovative solutions in American public higher education, the Lincoln Project recently convened a series of regional meetings in Austin, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; New York City; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Bulletin

Apr 1, 2014

Public Higher Education & the Private Sector

On January 22, 2014, Robert J. Birgeneau, Mary Sue Coleman, Philip Bredesen, Don M. Randel, and Frank D. Yeary participated in a conversation on the future of America’s system of public higher education.

Press Release

Jan 17, 2014

American Academy of Arts & Sciences Brings The Lincoln Project to UC Berkeley

Public Higher Education and the Private Sector on Tap for Discussion

Press Release

Jan 28, 2013

American Academy of Arts and Sciences Launches Initiative to Address Challenges to Public Higher Education

Robert J. Birgeneau to Lead American Academy Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education

Bulletin

Jan 1, 2013

The Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education

A new Academy initiative – The Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education – will advance a national discussion on the importance of public colleges and universities.

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Events

Project Outreach

The Lincoln Project held regional meetings and briefings in 15 states across the country bringing together leaders in public higher education, government, policy, business, and philanthropy. Over 38,000 print copies of the project's five publications were distributed to stakeholders around the country. The project was cited extensively in a broad range of media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Atlantic, CNN Money, Forbes, WGBH News, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Inside Higher Ed.

Learn more about the Lincoln Project's influence:

Outreach Activities & Impact

Media Coverage

Project Information

This project was supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Spencer Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, and Robert and Colleen Haas.

Project Date

2013

2016

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