Higher Education with Christopher Marsicano
TOPIC: Higher Education and the Public Good
SPEAKER: Christopher Marsicano, Davidson College
Higher education institutions face a series of significant challenges. With the advent of artificial intelligence, rising tuition prices, shifting job markets, political polarization, and growing skepticism, higher education is facing a deep crisis of purpose. Yet beyond granting degrees, colleges and universities fuel local economies, drive scientific innovation, and strengthen democratic communities. This presentation will examine the challenges facing colleges and universities, posit a possible future for the sector, and shine a spotlight on Davidson College’s flagship program dedicated to higher education as a public good – the D. G. and Harriet Wall Martin Institute for Public Good.
BIOGRAPHY
Christopher R. Marsicano is the Katie ’90 and Stan Humphries ’90 Director of the D.G. and Harriet Wall Martin Institute for Public Good at Davidson College, his undergraduate alma mater. In this role, he leads and serves as chief strategist and ambassador for Davidson’s flagship initiative integrating research, teaching, creative practice, and community engagement to advance ethical leadership, civic education, and public problem-solving across the institute’s five program areas.
His research examines how colleges and universities innovate in times of crisis.
Marsicano also teaches courses on public policy, higher education, and comparative and international education. He has published in several peer-reviewed academic journals and policy publications including Educational Researcher, Research in Higher Education, and the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
At the outset of the global coronavirus pandemic, Marsicano founded the College Crisis Initiative (C2i) to study U.S. university responses to COVID-19. Marsicano is nationally known expert on higher education and public policy has been quoted or cited in over 2,500 articles in popular print media outlets including The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He has made television and radio appearances on NPR, the BBC World Service, and CNN among others. He earned his PhD from Vanderbilt University and his MPP from Duke University.
