12 Most Influential Forces In Higher Education In 2012

Sandra Fluke

A year ago, Sandra Fluke was just a law student at Georgetown University who believed that if she and her peers were forced to purchase health insurance through their school, birth control and contraception should be covered. By the end of 2012, she had been the center of the political debate for weeks, was practically a household name, received phone calls from President Obama, appeared on countless TV news shows and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. It all started because Fluke and other students had long protested against Georgetown's policy of excluding birth control from its health insurance plans. She testified before a Congressional committee about the health issues her friends faced. The specific health concerns really didn't involve sexual relationships, but Rush Limbaugh decided to call her a "slut" and demand a sex tape from her on his national radio show, sparking a firestorm in the media around her and the Obama administration's policies. In the months after, many Jesuit universities were also suing the Obama administration over the birth control mandate.

Andrew Ng & Daphne Koller

Andrew Ng (left) and Daphne Koller, Stanford University computer science professors who started Coursera, pose for a photo at the Coursera office in Mountain View, Calif. <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/coursera-hits-1-million-students-with-udacity-close-behind/38801">Coursera attracted a number of notable institutions</a> to its Massive Open Online Courses platform and gained more students than any other MOOCs out there. This was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html?pagewanted=all">the year of the MOOC</a>.

Tom Harkin

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/30/for-profit-colleges-senate-report_n_1721058.html">released a damning report this year asserting</a> that for-profit schools often hit vulnerable students with exorbitant tuition, aggressive recruiting practices and abysmal student outcomes. Harkin's investigation has essentially given a black eye to for-profits, which <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/for-profit-college-enrollment_n_1988186.html">posted a significant decline in enrollment this year,</a> damaging their share prices on Wall Street.

Robert Applebaum

Attorney turned activist Robert Applebaum worked with the Occupy Colleges/Occupy Student Debt team to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/student-loan-forgiveness-act-2012-hansen-clarke_n_1415910.html">gather more than 1 million signatures on a piece of legislation</a> to forgive student loan debt.

Rodney Erickson

Penn State University President Rodney Erickson ran the university following its child sex abuse scandal. In August 2012, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/freeh-report-penn-state-coverup-joe-paterno-jerry-sandusky_n_1667727.html">Freeh report detailed a high-level cover up</a>, including Erickson's predecessor. However, Penn State has put in motion a number of reforms, held <a href="http://protectchildren.psu.edu/">a national child abuse conference</a> and ripped down monuments on campus, which <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/22/joe-paterno-statue-penn-state_n_1692683.html">honored the late Joe Paterno</a>, who also covered up Sandusky's crimes, according to the Freeh report.

Pam & Robert Champion

Pam and Robert Champion Sr., seen in this Oct. 22, 2012 photo, look at defendant Brian Jones as he apologizes to them before being sentenced in a Orlando, Florida courtroom. Their son was killed in a hazing incident, and in the aftermath, the Champions pushed FAMU to stop the kind of violent hazing that killed Robert Jr. Many other universities have taken notice around the country. Clubs, Greek houses and other student organizations were routinely suspended and investigated for alleged hazing incidents since Robert Champion's hazing death at FAMU.

Hillary Dworkoski

Long before students around the country were petitioning to have their university boot Chick-fil-A off campus over the CEO's controversial comments about gay rights, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/new-york-university-wont-_n_1317004.html">Hillary Dworkoski was calling for New York University to remove the fast food joint </a>from her campus. Dworkoski was upset about the millions the company's charitable arm has donated to anti-gay initiatives. To date, <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-university-stop-serving-anti-gay-chick-fil-a-on-campus">her petition</a> has gotten more than 17,000 signatures, more than any other Chick-fil-A petition. Even Christine Quinn, New York City Council Speaker, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/30/christine-quinn-nyc-chick-fil-a-nyu_n_1719538.html">jumped on the bandwagon and called for NYU </a>to remove the chicken joint.

Mark Yudof

Despite enormous challenges from state funding cuts, rising tuition, criticism over the mishandling of student protests, multiple University of California campuses <a href="http://www.dailycal.org/2012/09/12/u-s-news-world-report-ranks-uc-berkeley-top-public-school/">remain world-class public research universities rivaling Ivy League schools in top rankings</a>. Mark Yudof, president of the UC system, presided over that and saw voters reward the schools by electing to raise taxes to fund them <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/prop-30-passes-california-education_n_2087931.html">through Prop 30</a> -- a ballot initiative.

Angie Epifano

This fall, Angie Epifano wrote a column in the Amherst Student, the Amherst College student newspaper, about the poor treatment she received from the school when she came forward after a sexual assault she survived. Her <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/education/amherst-account-of-rape-brings-tension-to-forefront.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">column sparked direct action from the Amherst administration</a> and an <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/10/25/after_angie_epifano_amherst_rape_victims_speak_out_no_wonder_college_students.html">outcry from the students</a>. Afterwards a number of students came forward with similar stories around the country.

University Of Virginia Community

Public college presidents have had a tough job navigating through budget cuts, a recession, skyrocketing tuition and student debt levels and calls for reforming education in general. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/21/college-presidents-job-security-university-virginia-education-cuts_n_1617361.html?1340652010">Many of them chose to step down or were forced out</a> at notable state universities. But when University of Virginia president Teresa Sullivan was pushed out of her post, an uproar by UVA students, faculty and alumni <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/teresa-sullivan-university-of-virginia_n_1628201.html">forced a big reversal and her reinstatement </a>less than a month later.

Student Activists

Whether it's petitioning for Chick-fil-A's removal from campus, a group locking themselves inside the Cooper Union Foundation Building, going on a hunger strike for better wages for school employees, demanding better care for sexual assault survivors or calling for their university to cut ties with fossil fuels, student-led movements typically cause real change in higher education.

Pop Music

We're not sure what it is about pop stars like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/call-me-maybe-ryan-challinor_n_2160797.html">Carly Rae Jepsen</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/gotye-parody-college-humor-video_n_1456876.html">Gotye</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/gangnam-style-parody">Psy</a> who inspired college students to make their own music videos to their hits. There were<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/call-me-maybe-parody"> too many parodies</a> to track!

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/most-influential-higher-education-2012_n_2388295.html

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