Skip to main content
2026 AAC&U Annual Meeting Main banner
Final Program


PDF Program Schedule
Starred Sessions
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Advancing Public Purposes

30-Minute Session

Reclaiming the Narrative: Undergraduate Research as a Strategic Response to the Higher Education Crisis

Thursday, January 22, 2026
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Location: Dogwood - Mezzanine
As we are aware, the national narrative on the value of higher education has shifted. Americans are losing faith in an undergraduate degree and its worth as a vehicle for social mobility and a public good. Employers in the United States also are losing confidence in the value of an undergraduate degree. Further exacerbating the situation, the current administration has taken aim at the higher education enterprise through executive orders, withholding of funds, cancellations of grants and contracts, lawsuits, and novel interpretations of policy. Higher education is struggling to respond to this rapidly evolving and aggressive environment. This panel discussion will bring together experts from different perspectives to discuss how higher education professionals can frame and advocate for the higher education enterprise through the lens of undergraduate research as a tool for career readiness. The panel will include representatives from industry, talent recruitment, higher education advocacy, career services, and Council on Undergraduate Research leadership.