On the Fragile Edge
AI now cuts across admissions, advising, finance, and classrooms. The Chronicle calls it creative destruction, and Bryan Alexander, author of the upcoming book Peak Higher Ed Peak: How to Survive the Emerging Academic Crisis, warns that demographic decline and fragile economics would collide with new technologies. AI taught courses and automated services at elite schools will deepen advantages, while resource poor colleges face lag, cost, and credibility traps. Leaders who move first with shared services, alliances, and transparent use policies can narrow the gap. The earlier Huron closures analysis and resilience thread showed that survival favors speed, clarity, and credible plans.
Chronicle story | Bryan Alexander
Jean-Léon Gérôme, Paestum, troupeau de buffles, 1851. Public domain.