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January 13, 2025 2025 Industry Outlook | Higher Education

New leadership, AI adoption key trends impacting higher-ed industry

HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Lawrence P. Ward is in his first full year as president of the University of Hartford.
By Hanna Snyder Gambini
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Connecticut colleges face numerous challenges, including recovering financially from the pandemic and the need to grow enrollment at a time when the state is graduating fewer high school students.

But perhaps the biggest higher-education trend in 2025 will be a changing of the guard. Connecticut colleges are undergoing a sea change in leadership, with many institutions getting new presidents or business school deans.

That will lead to both short- and long-term changes at some of the state’s top colleges, which are not only major employers but key drivers of workforce development.

The leadership changes include:

  • Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year after 11 years in the role. She will be replaced by Daniel G. Lugo, the current president of Queens University of Charlotte, on July 1, 2025.
  • Judy Olian will step down as president of Quinnipiac University in 2025, after seven years at the helm. A national search for her replacement remains ongoing.
  • Andrea E. Chapdelaine, formerly president of Maryland-based Hood College, was appointed the 12th president of Connecticut College in July 2024.
  • Lawrence P. Ward began his tenure as the seventh president of the University of Hartford on July 1, 2024.
  • Maurie McInnis became the 24th president of Yale University in July, and is the first woman to fill that role.
  • Jens Frederiksen joined the University of New Haven on March 1, 2024, as its seventh president.
  • The UConn School of Business recently named professor Greg Reilly its interim dean, to take over for John A. Elliott, who has rejoined the accounting department faculty. A national search for a permanent business school dean is underway.

Dollars and cents

Other issues that will impact the state’s higher-education industry in 2025 include the continued emergence of artificial intelligence, growth of remote learning and private sector partnerships.

State colleges, including UConn, will also be active at the state legislature as policymakers debate a new two-year budget.

There’s still uncertainty over how the state’s fiscal guardrails, which restrict how much lawmakers can spend and borrow, and the depletion of federal pandemic aid will impact higher-education funding.

Gov. Ned Lamont in November ordered mid-year budget cuts from public colleges and universities totaling about $8 million, despite the state projecting a surplus for the current fiscal year, according to the CT Mirror.

UConn and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, which oversees four public universities and Connecticut State Community College, have already warned about budget shortfalls heading into the next academic year.

Insufficient state funding, the schools said, could put programs and services at risk.

AI at the forefront

Meantime, the continued emergence of artificial intelligence will impact all colleges.

Nancy Savage

Nancy Savage, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at the University of New Haven, said her school is developing a new master’s degree in AI, which it plans to launch in the next year.

UNH in 2025 will also focus on examining how AI impacts and supports the student educational experience, and how the technology can be leveraged to develop new academic programs and real-world opportunities for students.

The goal is to give students the skills to pursue careers in AI, machine learning and advanced manufacturing, Savage said.

Judy Olian

Olian, the Quinnipiac University president, said her Hamden-based college has been exploring AI applications in fields such as engineering, business data analytics, medicine and art history.

Quinnipiac is also using AI to improve university operations, such as identifying incoming or continuing students who may be at risk of falling behind academically, or streamlining services and back-office operations.

“These evolving applications require experimentation as well as astute governance of these new frontiers,” Olian said.

Rob Schnieders

Fairfield University’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Rob Schnieders said two facets of AI that will see increasing focus in 2025 will be its use to improve student services and how to ensure students are correctly using the technology within their research, to avoid plagiarism or other information misuse.

Workforce development partnerships

Boosting workforce development partnerships with state businesses will also be a major focus in 2025, college leaders said.

University of Hartford President Lawrence P. Ward said his school’s corporate partnerships have grown substantially in recent years, with organizations like Cigna, Pratt & Whitney and Hartford HealthCare.

UHart recently announced a $3 million scholarship commitment from Stanley Black & Decker to support top incoming Greater Hartford students. In addition to tuition support, “Stanley Black & Decker Scholars” will get access to the New Britain-based toolmaker’s employees for monthly mentoring sessions, résumé-building workshops, and leadership development programs.

The scholars are also guaranteed first-round interviews for internships.

Fairfield University is forming talent partnerships with companies and nonprofits to upskill their workforces with degree, certificate and custom learning experience offerings, said Schnieders.

He said many organizations are looking to leverage large language models and generative AI to accelerate their business strategies. In response, Fairfield’s Dolan School of Business has developed a multistage workshop in which business leaders can gather to explore the possibilities of AI within their particular sector and businesses.

Meantime, amid the escalating debate about the value of college, universities in the coming year will focus on articulating the return on investment of earning a degree and developing new pathways that help students secure post-graduation opportunities, UNH’s Savage said.

At UNH, all incoming students are required to submit their résumé during their first semester. In the subsequent years, the focus turns to helping students update their résumé to capture the skills and experiences they’ve obtained while at school.

Pandemic adjustments

It’s been nearly five years since the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed not only the way people live and work, but how they learn. Higher education institutions, like many businesses, are accepting that hybrid models of learning are here to stay.

In particular, universities will increasingly deliver degree programs to global remote audiences, especially as barriers to language translation are reduced via AI-enabled services.

For example, in addition to having over 400 U.S.-based learners in online and graduate programs, Fairfield University is offering its MBA and master’s in business analytics programs to executives in Shanghai, with further global expansion planned for 2025 and beyond.

Savage said UNH believes the pandemic also put a spotlight on the importance of student mental health. In 2025, colleges must focus on providing resources that support students’ mental health and well-being, she said.

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