Few appreciate how fundamentally different the fiscal future of colleges and universities in the United States will become. The 2017 tax law changes will increase pressures on higher education to deliver better outcomes for students and families, while simultaneously reducing available federal funds, families’ abilities to leverage rising home values to finance higher education, and state support for higher education due to the costs of underfunded pension programs and continued rising health care costs. Colleges and universities continue to accelerate their expenditures for enhanced facilities, athletic programs, and student affairs support programs to aid in the retention of lesser prepared, less healthy, and increasingly mental health-challenged students.
Character (Still) Counts: Moral Injury and the Case for Character Education
Many academic leaders remember the Character Counts! initiative from the 1990s and early 2000s. It was visible in schools and youth programs nationwide, emphasizing as core values the Six Pillars
Teresa Maggard Stephens
June 15, 2026
