Control the Frame: Rhetorical Strategy and the Future of Higher Education

This panel will argue for the importance of rhetorical framing in the current battle for control of higher education, which has been exceptionally bad at making strategic and persuasive rhetorical arguments. At this pivotal moment, higher education needs to influence public attitudes in the same way the foes of democratic and equitable education have sought to undermine it: by engaging in strategic and long-term planning for kairotic moments of change. This panel will outline strategies for taking control of the rhetorical frame and advocate for creating structures to equip administrators, faculty, students, staff, and alumni with a rhetorical toolbox. Participants will leave with a framework for understanding the current challenges higher education is facing as well as practical examples of rhetorical solutions they could immediately implement.