I recently rejoined The Chronicle after nine years away, and I could not be more excited to be back.

I come from a family of educators — my mom was a high-school English teacher, and my brother is a professor — and this is a dream job.

I spent a dozen years as a Chronicle reporter and editor, writing about everything from semiliterate football players to shoddy online programs and overseeing our coverage of money, management, and politics. Sometimes, my stories even intersected my personal life.

When I went on reporting trips, I often took my wife and two young kids. By the time they were 10, they had toured dozens of America’s most iconic campuses. My son became so obsessed with colleges, he turned our family’s favorite road-trip game — 20 Questions — into a guessing game about colleges and fun facts he had discovered about them.

Our kids are nearing college age now, so I’m thinking a lot about the value of higher education. My four years at Indiana University were among the best years of my life. The connections I made, and the education I got, have provided the foundation for much of my career success and broader life enrichment.

But what colleges offer and what families need are increasingly seen as being at odds. Heightened scrutiny of higher education by those who think it’s too expensive, not necessary, or captured by political bias is taking a toll on how the public perceives the sector. And the federal government’s aggressive steps to reshape it, including capriciously pulling funding, are having a significant impact on many colleges’ financial health.

At such a pivotal moment, the higher-education sector needs a strong Chronicle. And The Chronicle needs a strong higher-education sector.

When I left the publication in late 2016, we had just celebrated our 50th anniversary. If we’re going to survive — and thrive — for another 50 years, we need to reimagine how we show up for our audience and find new ways of informing and convening people at one of the most critical moments in higher education’s history.

Over the coming months, I plan to talk to as many of you as possible. I want to hear what you’re going through, how you’re managing this moment, and how we can better serve you.

To get the conversation started, I came up with a couple of questions:

• What do you think higher education must do differently to thrive in the years ahead?

• How can The Chronicle best help you and your institution navigate the challenges you’re facing?

I’d love to hear any and all ideas — just hit reply to this message (I read every email).

Your ideas will go a long way toward helping me shape my vision for The Chronicle. As that vision takes shape, I’ll keep you posted, right here in your inbox.

And if you see someone doing something innovative that we should write about, please drop me a line.

Until next time! 

Brad Wolverton

Editor