The World of Higher Education

Host Alex Usher speaks with William Whyte, professor of social and architectural history at Oxford and author of The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood, about the material history of the university.
Rather than tracing the institution chronologically, Whyte examines universities through the materials that have shaped them, from the stone buildings that anchored medieval universities to the concrete campuses of the postwar era and the silicon of today’s digital age. They discuss why universities became landowners, how physical spaces shaped institutional power and identity, and the complex relationship between universities, their communities, and the state.
The conversation also considers what the university’s material history can tell us about its future: as technology makes online education increasingly possible, do universities still need campuses and face-to-face communities?
👉 Episode Links:
The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood, by William Whyte: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674495180
Focus Friday Sept 18 | Student Experience This Year: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/dal5wpbRQ4aeCbC68WW9mA#/registration

Host Alex Usher speaks with Brendan Cantwell, co-author of The Post-Liberal University: Governance, Leadership, and Partisanship in Higher Education, about the changing political landscape of American higher education.
They explore the shift from the postwar “liberal accord” to the neoliberal model of recent decades, and Cantwell’s argument that American higher education is now entering a post-liberal era in which partisan priorities are playing a much greater role in university governance.
The conversation examines growing political intervention in universities, the erosion of institutional autonomy and academic freedom, whether the trend is uniquely American or reflects broader approaches to the role of government in higher education, and what university leaders and governing boards can do to navigate this new environment.
👉 Episode Links:
The Postliberal University: Governance, Leadership, and Partisanship in Higher Education by Barrett J. Taylor and Brendan Cantwell
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Host Tiffany MacLennan speaks with Alex Usher for a mid-year review of the major trends shaping higher education around the world in 2026. Revisiting themes from HESA’s World of Higher Education Year in Review report, Usher reflects on the growing influence of political interference, financial pressures, artificial intelligence, and shifting global centres of research and innovation.
The conversation explores funding crises in countries including the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Kenya, the rise of private universities in emerging economies, and the challenges facing Canadian institutions as they adapt to declining international student revenues. Usher also offers his predictions for the months ahead and highlights the stories higher education watchers should be following as the new academic year approaches.
👉 Episode Links:
The World of Higher Education — Year in Review 2025: Read the free report

Host Alex Usher speaks with Javier Botero about the state of higher education in Colombia as the country heads into a pivotal presidential election. They explore the legacy of President Gustavo Petro, whose government has significantly increased public funding for higher education while continuing to face criticism over institutional finances, funding mechanisms, and its often-tense relationship with private universities. 
The conversation examines ongoing debates around university funding, student admissions, and the role of the private sector, as well as the unusual political and legal dispute surrounding the leadership of the National University of Colombia. 
Botero also reflects on the strengths and shortcomings of Petro's higher education agenda and considers what may lie ahead under Colombia's next government, including how different election outcomes could reshape the balance between public and private provision in the country's higher education system. 
👉 Episode Links:
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Host Alex Usher speaks with Gerard Postiglione, one of the leading experts on Chinese higher education, about the dramatic transformation of China’s university system over the past half-century. Drawing on his new book, Higher Education in China, Postiglione reflects on the country’s rise from the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution to becoming a global higher education and research powerhouse. The conversation explores the evolution of the Gaokao, the push for world-class universities, Hong Kong’s changing role within China’s higher education landscape, and the challenges China faces around skills, equity, governance, and artificial intelligence. 
👉 Episode Links:
Higher Education in China: Domestic Demands and Global Aspirations by Gerard A. Postiglione
WorldEd S4 E8: Inside the Gaokao: China’s Defining Test with Ruixue Jia
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