The past year was a generally difficult one for American colleges and universities. Dozens of institutions struggled to manage serious budget deficits; campus strife intensified over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza; several prominent university presidents were forced to resign; state legislatures ramped up their attacks on curricular and diversity initiatives; and a small enrollment rebound was offset by a significant decline in the number of new freshmen, raising concerns the long downturn in college attendance is likely to continue.
