How can higher education rebuild its relationship with the public in an era of heightened political polarization, shifting financial models, and rapid technological disruption? In this episode of Trending in Ed, host Mike Palmer welcomes back Jeremy C. Young, Senior Advisor at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), to discuss the foundational new report: Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education: The Trust Agenda.
As part of our ongoing Trending in Higher Ed series—featuring insights from leaders like Eddie Watson (AI & pedagogy), Brian Rosenberg (Whatever It Is, I’m Against It), and Elliot Felix (The Connected College)—this episode explores how campus leaders can move past reactive crisis management and actively cultivate trustworthy relationships across their communities. Jeremy breaks down AAC&U’s five-point framework, offering actionable, practical strategies for institutional leaders, faculty, and advocates.
Featured Reference & Key Highlights:
📄 Featured Reference: AAC&U’s Report, Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education (The Trust Agenda)—the core blueprint for this conversation, outlining actionable solutions to restore institutional trust.
🚀 Accelerate Innovation: Overcoming institutional inertia to streamline shared governance, adapt to the rapid emergence of AI, and adopt flexible academic pathways like universal transfer and “College in Three”.
🤝 Prioritize Community Engagement: Drawing inspiration from trusted community colleges and regional publics to act as true anchor institutions—leveraging local procurement and public-facing research (echoing Dr. Kenneth Carter’s work in public scholarship).
🎓 Recommit to Inclusive Excellence: Centering student success, expanding support for food/housing security, and fostering genuine civil dialogue that welcomes conservative students and diverse viewpoints (referencing Lara Schwartz’s Try to Love the Questions).
📢 Tell a Clearer Story: Shift away from the media’s hyper-fixation on elite Ivy League universities and reframe higher ed around shared public values like freedom, fairness, and opportunity directly through campus-level communications.
🛡️ Coordinate a Mission-Centered Defense: Protecting university autonomy and academic freedom through collaborative cross-institutional defense networks—building a proactive trust foundation before crisis management (as discussed with Legend Labs’ Jeff Hunt) becomes necessary.
Timestamps:
- ⏱️ 00:00 – Welcome back Jeremy C. Young & transition from PEN America to AAC&U
- ⏱️ 00:03:00 – Introducing the featured reference: AAC&U’s Trust Agenda report
- ⏱️ 00:09:00 – Pillar 1: Accelerating innovation, AI adaptation, & shared governance reform
- ⏱️ 00:12:30 – Pillar 2: Community engagement, anchor institution strategy, & local impact
- ⏱️ 00:19:00 – Pillar 3: Inclusive excellence, student support, & engaging political difference
- ⏱️ 00:26:30 – Pillar 4: Reframing higher ed narratives & empowering local messengers
- ⏱️ 00:33:30 – Pillar 5: Collaborative defense, institutional autonomy, & cross-sector alignment
- ⏱️ 00:39:30 – Implementation: AAC&U’s upcoming Leadership Institute & long-term outlook
Catch the full video episode now on YouTube and Spotify!
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Palmer Media 2026-08-28 19:31:00
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