Georgian Court University President on Future of Higher Ed

Steve Adubato and Dr. Joseph Marbach, President of Georgian Court University, discuss the expansion of Georgian Court into Hunterdon County, the impact of NJ’s administration on the future of higher education, and the negative tone of political discourse in our country today.

8/11/18 #219

Excerpt:

"He's back again Dr. Joe Marbach, president of the Georgian Court University, good to see you doctor. Great to be here Steve, thanks. You and I have a lot of offline conversations about the mood, political discourse, polarization in our nation... Do I make too much of it? I don't think so, Steve. I've never seen politics this strained and in the 30 years that I've been studying at... And you're a political scientists? Political scientist by training, yes. So... and then just applying it and seeing how it affects our students. You know, in college campuses it used to be depression was the number one issue for mental health. Now it's anxiety. ...And About? Everything. You know, they're worried about the jobs they're gonna get, they're worried about the political climate, the election... Worried about conversations going on in North Korea? Yeah, and... What that potentially means? Who's pointing missiles at them and all sorts of things. That's real. That's real for people. It is, and it's... but I think a generation grew up with it as almost the norm, and then we... we we dialed back that nuclear threat. You know, whatever the Cold War was. hmm. And now, all of a sudden, it's reemerged. And you know, you've got shootings in high schools, and metal detectors, and things that a whole generation of folks never grew up with that this generation of students are facing on a daily basis. At georgian court, to what degree are you able to facilitate an environment... create an environment where there's open dialogue with different points of view, politically, where people can feel... dare I use the word safe, Joe? Well, we... we try to be safe at least within a conversation. And we certainly are physically safe. Georgian court... yeah. Is one of the safest campuses in New jersey. Tell everyone where you are, by the way. We're down in Lakewood, New Jersey. So, in Ocean County, just on the edge of Monmouth County. Right. But... So we have a safe physical place, but it's a place where you can exchange ideas in a safe way, and not be insulted. You know? One of your leadership pieces was about leaders recognizing differences in others and not mocking other folks. Oh, you're the one who read it? I might be. Yeah, I write a column on leadership and I am fascinated by the name-calling, the mocking, but I am fascinated also, by the role of higher education in all of this. You and I... Joe's been a part of so many of our conversations about affordability in higher education... the partnering, if you will, of higher..."