Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The question isn't who to blame for higher ed's problems. It's what you want to build.
Public trust is low, an enrollment cliff is coming, and AI is upending everything. The status quo isn't an option. This panel from the Heterodox Academy Mountain West Regional Conference at the University of Wyoming treats that pressure as an opportunity and asks a constructive question: what does a university that deserves the public's trust, respect, and money actually look like?
Moderated by University of Wyoming economist Matt Burgess, the panel features Heidi Ganahl, entrepreneur, former University of Colorado regent, and ACTA board member; Ed Seidel, outgoing President of the University of Wyoming; and Pamela Carriveau, Provost and VP of Academic Affairs at Black Hills State University. They dig into return on investment and student success, getting ahead of the legislature instead of waiting to be regulated, how UW reworked its approach to DEI, the distinct realities of regional and red-state institutions, and where trustees and lawmakers can actually help.
Chapters
0:00 Matt Burgess: what do you want to build?
7:15 What makes a university deserve trust
12:51 What to change, and what to communicate better
20:25 What's going right: experiential learning and rigor
26:58 Getting ahead of the legislature with homegrown solutions
35:20 How UW reworked its approach to DEI
48:03 The constructive role of trustees and government
56:44 Audience Q&A
#HeterodoxAcademy #OpenInquiry #HigherEd #UniversityReform #AcademicFreedom #ViewpointDiversity #UniversityOfWyoming
The question isn't who to blame for higher ed's problems. It's what you want to build.
Public trust is low, an enrollment cliff is coming, and AI is upending everything. The status quo isn't an option. This panel from the Heterodox Academy Mountain West Regional Conference at the University of Wyoming treats that pressure as an opportunity and asks a constructive question: what does a university that deserves the public's trust, respect, and money actually look like?
Moderated by University of Wyoming economist Matt Burgess, the panel features Heidi Ganahl, entrepreneur, former University of Colorado regent, and ACTA board member; Ed Seidel, outgoing President of the University of Wyoming; and Pamela Carriveau, Provost and VP of Academic Affairs at Black Hills State University. They dig into return on investment and student success, getting ahead of the legislature instead of waiting to be regulated, how UW reworked its approach to DEI, the distinct realities of regional and red-state institutions, and where trustees and lawmakers can actually help.
Chapters
0:00 Matt Burgess: what do you want to build?
7:15 What makes a university deserve trust
12:51 What to change, and what to communicate better
20:25 What's going right: experiential learning and rigor
26:58 Getting ahead of the legislature with homegrown solutions
35:20 How UW reworked its approach to DEI
48:03 The constructive role of trustees and government
56:44 Audience Q&A
#HeterodoxAcademy #OpenInquiry #HigherEd #UniversityReform #AcademicFreedom #ViewpointDiversity #UniversityOfWyoming
