About this site

The world is changing rapidly, driven by powerful forces such as economics, politics, demographics, religion and technology.  We have seen enormous increases in globalization over the past few decades that have transformed how we do business, how we live, and how our governments function. 

American universities have been affected only marginally by these powerful forces thus far, but it is difficult to imagine that they will not be changed in significant, perhaps radical, ways  over the next few decades.  This website is dedicated to discussion and analysis of the forces coming to bear on higher education, and of ways in which higher education might proactively and effectively use these forces to increase its impact.

I am Lloyd Armstrong, University Professor and Provost Emeritus at the University of Southern California (USC). I was Provost from 1993 until 2005, a period in which USC very significantly improved in quality and reputation, and greatly increased its international scope. During that period, I lead the creation of the 1994 Strategic Plan and its 1998 Four Year Update. These documents outlined a new set of directions for the university, and their implementation was instrumental in the improvements that occurred.  I also led the writing of the 2005 Plan for Increasing Academic Excellence, which described the strategic capabilities that needed to be built in order to enable the university to continue to improve in rapidly changing times.  I am now studying issues of the future of higher education in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis of the USC Rossier School of Education.
 

Through my blogs, I will let you know where my work is leading me. I will also connect you to some other fascinating work in this area. Since my focus is on the ways in which powerful global forces are shaping higher education, much of the work I find useful is not in the education field at all, but rather in the political, economic, and philosophical arenas.  Among the entries you will find here will be some brief reviews of books from these areas that I have found particularly thought-provoking.

I look forward to your input.

The world is changing rapidly, driven by powerful forces such as economics, politics, demographics, religion and technology.  We have seen enormous increases in globalization over the past few decades that have transformed how we do business, how we live, and how our governments function. 

American universities have been affected only marginally by these powerful forces thus far, but it is difficult to imagine that they will not be changed in significant, perhaps radical, ways  over the next few decades.  This website is dedicated to discussion and analysis of the forces coming to bear on higher education, and of ways in which higher education might proactively and effectively use these forces to increase its impact.

I am Lloyd Armstrong, University Professor and Provost Emeritus at the University of Southern California (USC). I was Provost from 1993 until 2005, a period in which USC very significantly improved in quality and reputation, and greatly increased its international scope. During that period, I lead the creation of the 1994 Strategic Plan and its 1998 Four Year Update. These documents outlined a new set of directions for the university, and their implementation was instrumental in the improvements that occurred.  I also led the writing of the 2005 Plan for Increasing Academic Excellence, which described the strategic capabilities that needed to be built in order to enable the university to continue to improve in rapidly changing times.  I am now studying issues of the future of higher education in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis of the USC Rossier School of Education.
 

Through my blogs, I will let you know where my work is leading me. I will also connect you to some other fascinating work in this area. Since my focus is on the ways in which powerful global forces are shaping higher education, much of the work I find useful is not in the education field at all, but rather in the political, economic, and philosophical arenas.  Among the entries you will find here will be some brief reviews of books from these areas that I have found particularly thought-provoking.

I look forward to your input.

The world is changing rapidly, driven by powerful forces such as economics, politics, demographics, religion and technology.  We have seen enormous increases in globalization over the past few decades that have transformed how we do business, how we live, and how our governments function. 

American universities have been affected only marginally by these powerful forces thus far, but it is difficult to imagine that they will not be changed in significant, perhaps radical, ways  over the next few decades.  This website is dedicated to discussion and analysis of the forces coming to bear on higher education, and of ways in which higher education might proactively and effectively use these forces to increase its impact.

I am Lloyd Armstrong, University Professor and Provost Emeritus at the University of Southern California (USC). I was Provost from 1993 until 2005, a period in which USC very significantly improved in quality and reputation, and greatly increased its international scope. During that period, I lead the creation of the 1994 Strategic Plan and its 1998 Four Year Update. These documents outlined a new set of directions for the university, and their implementation was instrumental in the improvements that occurred.  I also led the writing of the 2005 Plan for Increasing Academic Excellence, which described the strategic capabilities that needed to be built in order to enable the university to continue to improve in rapidly changing times.  I am now studying issues of the future of higher education in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis of the USC Rossier School of Education.
 

Through my blogs, I will let you know where my work is leading me. I will also connect you to some other fascinating work in this area. Since my focus is on the ways in which powerful global forces are shaping higher education, much of the work I find useful is not in the education field at all, but rather in the political, economic, and philosophical arenas.  Among the entries you will find here will be some brief reviews of books from these areas that I have found particularly thought-provoking.

I look forward to your input.

Comments

[Stephen Cook]

I agree, Globalization has changed education. To be more specific I think the internet has made education more globalized one in the way we can access information instantaneously and two the way that this process has been integrated into the classroom. I know this is occurring in the higher education system as I am an undergrad and I can only assume the same is taking place in the k-12 classrooms. A site we like to use as a general education reference is http://www.careersandeducation.com .