Higher education in the United States and elsewhere is undergoing significant changes. Public institutions are receiving decreasing support from states, while the proportion of tenure and tenure-track faculty at most universities and colleges is declining. Indeed, a number of politicians have argued that with funding tight, universities should be run more like businesses. For example, here are "seven breakthrough solutions" that were proposed in Texas, and a response by members of the College of Liberal Arts at UT, Austin. There is also increasing pressure to obtain funding, and publish in high profile journals. This is at least in part responsible for the steep increase of the number of retracted papers over the last 20 years.

Arguably, the sciences would fare somewhat better than the humanities if such measures were implemented. However, I believe that these are trends that were present for years, and that the Great Recession has only accelerated them. The infographic below offers an overview, while more data can be found here.

Institutions of higher learning will weather the Great Recession (here is an interesting comparison with the Great Depression of the '30s). However, decreased state support and proportions of tenured and tenure-track faculty at universities are here to stay. It is likely that the structure and function of universities will change considerably over the next few decades. It is up to all members of our profession to take part in this restructuring.

Krešimir Josić

Note: The following essay by Hunter Rawlings, the president of the Association of American Universities, gives an excellent overview of many of these issues.
The infographic below appeared at OnlinePhD.org.