Keynote speakers and panelists at the 2007 CIC Presidents Institute, held January 4–7 in Tucson, Arizona, addressed the theme of “The Anticipatory President and the 21st Century Campus” and focused on international issues, higher education economics, institutional planning, and the future of science. The 292 presidents and 176 spouses who attended gave outstanding evaluations to the conference as a whole. Several presenters discussed their recently published books, which were available for sale during the Institute, including keynote speaker George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee in New York (Globalization Challenged); Spencer Foundation President Michael McPherson and Williams College (MA) President Morton Schapiro (College Access: Opportunity or Privilege?); Lloyd Thacker, executive director of The Education Conservancy (College Unranked: Ending the College Admissions Frenzy); and Wall Street Journal Deputy Bureau Chief Daniel Golden (The Price of Admission).

Plenary speaker Rita Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation, explored the implications for independent colleges and universities of emerging developments in science, engineering, and mathematics education and research. Michael Dolence, a leading consultant to colleges, universities, and associations, presented a comprehensive view of the challenges and opportunities facing higher education in the 21st century. And James Doti, president of Chapman University (CA), joined McPherson and Schapiro for a closing plenary discussion on the financial future of independent higher education. Workshops on comprehensive campaigns and “cost disease” in higher education were very well attended. Many of the presentations are available here as resources on CIC’s website.