TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. PREAMBLE ………………………………………………... 3
B. REPORT …………………………………………………… 4
I. Introduction ………………………………... 4
II. Observations ……………………………….. 6
A. The Challenge …………………………... 6
B. The Findings …………………………….. 7
III. Broad Recommendations …………………… 9
C. Appendix A: Members of International Committee ………. 13
D. Appendix B: Agenda of December 16, 2010, Meeting……… 18
A. PREAMBLEGreece is undergoing critical changes that will determine its future for decades to come. Greek higher education, as a result, requires adopting a new model based on social values and principles characteristic of the country’s culture that encompasses Greece’s spirit of democracy and social justice.
Higher education in Greece revolves around the public university, which has steered the country’s development since the founding of the Greek state, as well as the public Technological Institute which assumed a significant role in the development of the Greek economy after World War II. Despite the major role of the Greek university in the early years of the post-industrial revolution, higher education in Greece in the 1980’s and 1990’s took a turn that did not align well with social and economic changes in Europe and elsewhere in the world. As Greece joined the EU, these misalignments became more prominent and have created major barriers to improving the economy and stabilizing Greece’s social and political structures.
At present, the organization and administration of the Greek university seems to be at odds with the needs of the Greek public, as well as the values and principles upon which the Greek university system was built. Further, these administrative and financial barriers have created a culture of conservatism that does not allow universities and their faculties to achieve the quality of education and social impact that these universities have been commissioned to provide. In order to empower Greek higher education, and help it achieve its mission to improve quality of life for all, barriers must be removed and the Greek university must be reformed.
The stakes are high, not only for government and the academic community, but for the country as a whole – culturally, socially and economically. Thus, everyone must stand up to this challenge. The Ministry of Education’s set of proposals would form a new identity for Greek higher education, and this report will comment on those proposals and provide independent observations and broad recommendations.
The International Advisory Committee has nine members listed on Appendix A. Due to scheduling conflicts only five members of the committee including Chancellor Katehi, President Sexton, President Naylor, President Hernes and President Ritzen where able to participate in their meeting in Greece on December 17, 2010. This report was synthesized by these five members using their notes from the individual and group discussions (see Agenda in Appendix B), material they were provided in advance and additional publications they had access to after the meeting. All members of the committee were given the opportunity to read the report and provide their written comments.
In September 2010, the Greek government announced the formation of an International Committee to assess the organization of Greek universities. The committee was empowered to provide broad recommendations and advice on how to reform the Greek university system to achieve its mission to educate and improve quality of life, and align it with European universities.
The committee includes nine members from around the world who agreed to offer their advice and guidance. The members of the committee are international scholars with extensive experience as presidents of major universities from the EU, US, Australia and Asia. This experience provides them with the ability to understand the challenges facing the Greek university and Greek society and to appreciate the opportunities to reform and re-invigorate higher education in Greece. A list of the members of this committee and their short bios is given on Appendix A.
A subset of the committee in