The UW Now

media release: Stream at the WAA YouTube channel.

Perceptions of American Higher Education

Public confidence in higher education has declined sharply among U.S. citizens over the past decade, including among those with a college education. What is driving this shift — and what might be the consequences? Will it erode America’s economic, military, and political leadership? What, if anything, can be done to reverse this trend, and whom should we look toward to make those changes?

On the next UW Now Livestream: a discussion about the latest research and rising issues around higher education and how UW-Madison is addressing those concerns. The program will be moderated by Mike Knetter, CEO of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.

Featured guests:

Charles Franklin, PhD, is a former professor of political science at UW-Madison, where he taught for 20 years. He has served as director of the Marquette Law School Poll since its inception in 2012. This poll is considered by many to be the definitive source on information concerning public political sentiment across the state of Wisconsin. In 2005, Franklin cofounded Pollster.com, an award-winning website for the analysis of polling data. In 2008, he was codirector of the Big Ten Poll, which correctly estimated the presidential outcome in all eight states with Big Ten universities. Franklin is also a past president of the Society for Political Methodology and served for eight years as a member of the Board of Overseers of the National Election Study. He has been a member of the ABC News election night analysis team since 2002.

Ken Goldstein, PhD, is a political analyst and former professor of political science at UW-Madison, where he won the Kellet Award for his career research accomplishments and the Chancellor’s Award for excellence in teaching. Previously, he was president of Kantar Media CMAG, a nonpartisan political consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was also cofounder and codirector of the Big Ten Battleground Poll, a study of political attitudes and voting patterns in each of the midwestern states that make up the Big Ten. As a highly respected elections analyst, Goldstein has consulted on network news election night coverage in every U.S. federal election since 1988. He is currently a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco and senior vice president for survey research and institutional policy at the Association of American Universities.