A steady stream of discussions about the state of higher education fills our inboxes each passing week. A significant, but not comprehensive, list of the threats to higher education include the enrollment cliff; the reconsideration (and targeted elimination) of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the United States; mounting student debt; an increased focus on return on investment; funding and state investments; and mergers and closures of financially fragile institutions.

Higher education professionals deal with these issues each day—in discussions with community members and constituents, the students we serve, our colleagues, and the families of those we recruit to our institutions.

While the media obsess about the latest crises in higher education from 30,000 feet, more than 500 public regional institutions are on the ground serving their communities and having real impact.

Roughly 13% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. (517 of 3,931 institutions, according to the National Council for Educational Statistics) are public regional universities, and they provide educational opportunities for nearly 30% of all enrolled college students as of fall 2023, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Ultimately, they’re educating nearly 5 million college students across the U.S., according to the American Association of State Colleges and Universites. 

Public regional universities are becoming a popular choice for college students because they are accessible both geographically and financially. They are located across all 50 states and their tuition rates are far lower than those of their larger public research university or private liberal arts college peers. They are the institutions that produce, according to a TedX Talk from higher education scholar Cecilia Orphan, “your teachers, nurses, and small business leaders.” They are the “safety schools” of lore but offer many of the most innovative and cutting-edge pathways for diverse populations of college students to prepare and obtain licensure for careers in fields like health, finance, and agriculture. They offer continuing and graduate education in the professions most plentiful in local and regional workforces. They’re also economic engines and paragons of efficiency, continuing to turn declining state investments into regional economic gains and more educated citizenries, to boot.  

However, when it comes to media coverage, public regional universities don’t get much love. Local newspaper sports pages are far more likely to focus on the athletic exploits of the Power Five university programs that compete hours away, even when the college athletes at the local university win national championships. The research breakthroughs that occur at major universities dominate higher education reporting, while the local university professor who was nominated for a National Book Award or who supervised research that discovered evidence of Albert Einstein’s gravitational wave theory go unnoticed. The $100 million–plus donations that dominate higher education media coverage drown out the $20,000 estate gifts left to a local university by retired teachers who dedicated their lives to serving people in their own communities. 

University advancement administrators at public regional universities continue to do the work regardless of the lack of attention or spotlight. I know because I happen to be one of them. Since 2023, I’ve served as Vice Chancellor of University Advancement at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, U.S. Since 2007, I’ve worked in university advancement at public regional universities and colleges in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Minnesota. I have also written about, researched, consulted on, and presented on topics of fundraising and executive leadership across the U.S., meeting hundreds of individuals like me along the way. Despite the diversity of our locations, staff sizes, and paths that have brought us to this career track, I see several throughlines. Public regional university advancement professionals work to secure funding and support for universities with limited resources, away from the media spotlight and on behalf of the communities in which we are situated. 

On any given day, far away from the discussions of crises and questions about value, a public regional university advancement professional accepts a small donation from a dedicated graduate that will provide a deserving student with a sense of renewed hope and opportunity. When I look at my peers in advancement at public regional universities, I see how they are working to replace the public perception of higher education’s crisis with confidence.     

I’ve talked with university advancement executives at public regional universities across the country. Here’s how four of them—at the University of Northern Colorado; Texas A&M University–San Antonio; Indiana University Southeast; and Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland—are engaging constituents and alumni meaningfully and creating confidence among donors, advocates, students and their families, and local communities.