No Peace in Our Time

Abstract

Forty young leaders were chosen to be profiled in this issue. In an effort to gain insight from them, they were each asked five questions: What are the major challenges for you as a young leader of the academy? What do you perceive as the major challenges ahead for higher education in the next two decades? Do you have a mentor(s), and if so, how has this helped you in your career? How are you learning to lead? What are your hopes for higher education in the next two decades?

From their responses several items emerged, including a great deal of concern about keeping higher education accessible and rethinking how learning can be prompted more widely. There was strong consensus that mentors had played a vital role in their development, and must continue to do so. Finally, there was strong agreement that preparation for national leadership required the opportunity to practice it, to make mistakes, to take risks, and to learn from their own “real world” choices.

The following profiles surely do not include all the young leaders of the academy, but this group clearly represents many of the strongest and the smartest. Our profound hope is that their numbers grow, as do their opportunities for learning through leading.