In the Chronicle of Higher Education, President Leon Botstein Rebuts Claim That Higher Ed Has “Few True Leaders”

In a speech given at Hillsdale College, Linda McMahon, secretary of education, argued that higher education has few true leaders, saying “The crisis of higher education is first and foremost a crisis of leadership.” The Chronicle of Higher Education invited three college presidents to respond to her remarks, including Bard College President Leon Botstein. “Secretary McMahon opened with a valid criticism: that we have an overabundance of administrators in our colleges,” Botstein writes, noting the prevalence of university presidents functioning as fundraisers and ambassadors, not thought leaders. President Botstein disagrees, however, with McMahon’s proposed solutions: “McMahon then takes off from this reasonable premise and articulates the values she thinks leaders should promote. Her claims are contradictory and hypocritical.”

Post Date: 09-17-2025