The University President Who Isn’t Afraid of Speaking Up

These days colleges are under fire from the Trump administration and critics on multiple fronts. Dartmouth's president, Sian Beilock, is one of the few Ivy League presidents not getting hauled before Congress, though her approach has plenty of detractors. Jeff and Michael talked with Beilock about the purpose of college, and how to lead in this polarized and uncertain time. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group. Relevant Links “ It feels like there’s no jobs, ” in The New York Times. “ Dartmouth announces AI partnership with Anthropic, company accused of plagiarizing Dartmouth professors’ publications, ” in The Dartmouth. “ What an Ivy League Education Really Gets You, ” in The Atlantic. Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:52 - An Up-and-Coming College President 4:17 - ‘Leading With Values’ 6:24 - The Choice to Be Outspoken in this Moment 7:16 - How Should We Think About the Modern College Presidency? 8:33 - How to Respond to Controversial World Events 10:00 - Why Does College Seem So Much Harder and Less Satisfying to Students Today? 12:24 - How Can Colleges Provide More Work Experience? 15:30 - Helping Students Learn Soft Skills 18:04 - What Role Should Colleges Play With AI? 20:15 - Do Students Need Colleges to Learn in an AI Era? 22:27 - How Should College Presidents Engage With Students? 24:53 - Should Highly-Selective Colleges Expand Their Classes 26:39 - Sponsor Break 27:24 - The Importance of Clarity of Mission 33:04 - How Should Colleges Talk About the Soft Skills They Teach? 35:20 - How Personal Stories Bleed Through in Leadership 37:10 - The Challenge of Presidents Forging Relationships With Students 40:27 - Lightning Round with Sian Beilock Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads Connect with Jeff Selingo: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

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The University President Who Isn’t Afraid of Speaking Up is an episode from Future U Podcast by Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn.

This episode is 00:43:09 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

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