Institute Insider

Join us for "The Changing Competitive Position of Public Research Universities," an address by M. Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, on Thursday, April 30, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Cowles Auditorium. Public universities increasingly are at a competitive disadvantage with private research universities. Public universities rely more and more on tuition and less on state support. One result is that faculty salaries are lower in public universities than private universities. This may in the future mean that the more talented faculty members migrate to the private institutions. The challenge is to find ways to remain competitive through developing innovative ways to become more efficient as such sectors as telecommunications and manufacturing have become.

Peter McPherson is president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A۰P۰L۰U), an association of public research universities, land-grant institutions, and many state public university systems. Its 218 members enroll more than 4.7 million students and graduate 1 million students per year. Prior to joining A۰P۰L۰U, McPherson was president of Michigan State University for more than 11 years (1993-2004).

McPherson’s address will be followed by a reactor panel of local higher education representatives. This even is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. RSVP to (612) 625-5002. This is one in a series of programs designed to bring together experts to talk about the current state of the economy.