COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY | Universities Need to Take a Human-Centered Approach

Professor Rick Geddes is a member of the Committee on the Future of the American University and a professor in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. He can be reached at rrg24@cornell.edu. The views expressed in this article are entirely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of the Committee as a whole.

American higher education today is challenged on so many fronts that I find it challenging to keep up. Bipartisan erosion of trust in higher education is widespread and declining. Federal support for basic research conducted by large U.S. universities, largely unwavering since World War II, now seems unreliable. University teaching and research are viewed by many as hopelessly biased and partisan, which further fosters distrust.

College students seem more focused on getting credentials than on gaining rigorous training across the disciplines that will enrich their entire lives, and universities are facing a demographic cliff in college-age students; the number of 18-year-olds already peaked in 2025 and is now entering a steep and sustained decline. 

Onto this dismal stage is cast the omnipresent specter of artificial intelligence. Whether real or imagined, many believe that AI will upend large swaths of the knowledge worker economy that are (or were) major employers of the college-educated.

One might be tempted to concede defeat and wait for U.S. higher education’s inevitable decline. Fortunately, I see opportunities on the horizon which, if seized vigorously, will allow universities to not only adapt to these challenges but to return to their roots and emerge stronger — and more valuable to society — than ever.

Many students entering college are misreading the job market that will be relevant four years hence. Like the rest of us, employers are trying to predict the volatile effects of AI on the workplace. The rough consensus that has emerged is that, instead of hiring based on skill with current technology, employers will seek graduates who possess a range of longer-lasting, human-centered qualities.

Such abilities include ‘soft skills’ like constructive and productive disagreement, effective communication, active teamwork, empathy, persuasive use of humor and team building, among others. Universities should focus on helping students develop judgment and insights that are uniquely human. That will not only improve their lives but will ensure their productivity at work for years to come, despite rapid and ongoing technological change.

There is also a longstanding concern about the deterioration of community in the U.S. Many commentators argue that there has been a serious weakening of social capital in recent decades, with more Americans disconnected from civic and community life. Few would argue that technological, economic or political forces have helped build community over the past 20 years.

U.S. universities are being called upon to help build better citizens, which is unsurprising given the country’s sharpening political divisions. That doesn’t mean producing automatons that passively take direction and think in tandem, but rather molding confident, critical thinkers who can vigorously participate in a feisty democracy. It means training students who can weigh theory and evidence on an issue, and separate intellectual wheat from chaff, while possessing enough self-confidence to reach solid conclusions and defend those conclusions through reasoned debate. This also suggests that reforms should include a reinvigorated civics curriculum and a renewed focus on citizenship.

U.S. universities are uniquely positioned to help improve matters. We not only have access to some of America’s brightest, energetic young people during their intellectually formative years, but can also boast a range of academic disciplines that are highly relevant in addressing society’s most pressing challenges. Despite today’s advanced technology, societies throughout history have faced similar pressures, and some of humanity’s best thinkers have offered solutions.

Given this situation, study of the humanities — literature, philosophy, history, religion, languages and particularly the classics — has renewed import. I believe classes in those subjects should be part of a core human-centered requirement, with an eye toward reinforcing soft skills, such as citizenship and building robust communities. Perhaps paradoxically, those skills are likely to be even more important in an AI-enabled future.

Changes should be made to admissions criteria. Rather than the dart-board approach to activities pursued by many high school students at the urging of their parents, universities should be transparent about what admissions criteria count and why. Having a clear language requirement, such as Greek or Latin (or both and starting at the youngest age possible), would not only serve students throughout their entire lives but would also support a human-centered education. It would also facilitate a deeper understanding of America’s system of government, whose Founding Fathers found inspiration in the political philosophies of Ancient Greece and the Roman Republic.

Finally, greater emphasis should be placed on co-curricular activities, such as undergraduate research, humanities-focused student organizations, study-abroad programs, debate teams and other academic clubs. When done properly, such activities can foster leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, communication and other skills rather than just providing a job market signal. In my view, universities should scale and support such programs, offering academic credit where appropriate.

All these changes will require the heavy lift of restoring trust in higher education to have any discernable effect. I believe that the reforms needed to restore trust should be applied to the disciplines named above first and with alacrity. Cornell’s Committee on the Future of the American University welcomes your ideas and suggestions as we chart a path forward.

Many of these reforms would return U.S. higher education to a more traditional role. It may be difficult for large research universities to maintain the quality of their unrivalled STEM education in the face of these new demands. Yet to my mind, with proper leadership and support, we are more than up to the task.

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