Chair to Chancellor: Lessons in Leading Modern Universities

Host Alex Usher speaks with Nicholas Dirks about the realities of university leadership amid financial pressures, political scrutiny, and growing institutional constraints. Drawing on his experience at Columbia and UC Berkeley, Dirks reflects on navigating crises around academic freedom and campus governance, and why meaningful reform in higher education is so difficult to achieve. The conversation also explores debates around institutional neutrality, interdisciplinarity, and what changes may be necessary for universities to adapt to an increasingly uncertain future. 👉 Episode Links:City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the UniversityFocus Friday