The leadership transition at the University of California is occurring at a unique moment, when the nature of learning, work, and the economy in our state are undergoing significant transformation. As head of one of the world’s premier postsecondary research institutions, the new UC president will help shape the future of higher education in California and beyond.

To bring external partners to the table in this search, College Futures Foundation organized two forums to provide the UC Regents’ presidential search committee with testimony from organizations working in the field of postsecondary education, workforce and economic development, and student success.

Collectively, the input from these external stakeholders provide a landscape of the current moment, concrete proposals for the future, and criteria for the selection of the next UC president.

About 144,000 college-ready students will be turned away annually from California’s four-year higher education institutions by 2030—double the number being kept away now.

The higher education capacity crisis poses a serious threat to the state’s economy and will widen already deep racial, economic, and geographic inequities.