Aaryan Kumar

UChicago President Paul Alivisatos (center) sits with Northwestern University Interim President Henry Bienen (right), University of Illinois Chancellor Charles Isbell (left), and moderator Lourdes Duarte (left).

University President Paul Alivisatos joined Henry Bienen, interim president of Northwestern University, and Charles Isbell, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), in a panel discussion hosted by Lincoln Forum titled “The Future of Higher Education” on March 2.

The conversation focused on several challenges confronting higher education—the rise of artificial intelligence, funding cuts that have diminished universities’ research abilities, and threats to academic expression from the federal government.

All three panelists emphasized the role of universities in serving society at large, a principle at odds with declining public trust in higher education over the past decade.

“We don’t want to be seen as a place that’s walled off and not connected, either with the communities that we’re embedded in or with the great economy that surrounds us here in Chicago,” Alivisatos said. “Our three institutions collaborate a lot, and, between us, we form the kind of scaffolding for the city and the state to be thriving, and we need to work at that and make sure we’re really doing it.”

The three administrators cited their respective developments in quantum computing research as examples of their contributions to the local economy. “Due to the efforts of our universities initially and the national labs, [Illinois] enjoys a leadership position [in quantum computing],” Alivisatos said. “It will benefit enormous sectors of the economy in all kinds of ways, and we have to hold on to that.”

UChicago has made strides in the realm of quantum computing, launching several research initiatives, hosting the 2024 Chicago Quantum Summit at the David Rubenstein Forum, and housing the Chicago Quantum Exchange—a collaboration with Northwestern and UIUC, among other organizations.

But investment in quantum computing has come under scrutiny in state policy. Residents of the South Side, where much of Illinois’s quantum development is slated to take place, have expressed concern about the potential environmental impacts and gentrification that could stem from quantum projects.

The panel also discussed the question of how artificial intelligence will change the college experience and postgraduate opportunities. Professors at UChicago and across the country have said that the prevalent use of AI challenges traditional modes of education and assessment. Additionally, the integration of AI into workplaces has undermined opportunities for new graduates seeking entry-level jobs.

Alivisatos expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of AI, describing its rise as “an exciting moment if you care about learning and ideas.” He added that the University will ideally be a “great place for thinking with machines, and thinking about them, and thinking without them.”

“Our faculty spent the better part of a year arguing about [the use of AI],” Alivisatos said, adding that the discussions had prompted faculty to consider “touching the third rail” and changing the Core Curriculum.

“Yes, you will learn always to think like a humanist and a social scientist and a natural scientist, and you should understand some math, and you’ll study a civilization. But we’ll also say that a human being today should understand the computational and statistical lenses of thought.”

Responding to a question on the contemporary value of a college degree, Bienen mused, “I have debated Peter Thiel on this issue,” referring to the PayPal founder who has paid young adults to skip college and pursue entrepreneurial projects.

“I have, too,” Alivisatos added. “He’s really tough.”

The panelists highlighted that universities will have to produce graduates who can adapt to the changing job market. “I don’t just see our jobs as educating some people, and they go off and they do things, but creating and helping to create an environment where all the other people who are part of a larger economy will be able to be a part of it and take advantage,” Isbell said.

“If we’ve done our jobs right at the beginning, we’ve taught somebody how to think, which gives them the tools at some deep level for being able to adapt to change over time,” Alivisatos added.

Cuts in federal spending and grant money since the Trump administration took office last year have left universities scrambling to recover their finances. Northwestern negotiated an agreement with the federal government to restore $790 million in research funding in November 2025.

Bienen, referring to negotiations with the federal government, said he “hope[s] we’re past that now” and emphasized the need to protect the independence of institutions of higher education.

“We’re the drivers of science, entrepreneurship, innovation—our society depends on us,” Bienen said. “We have to be good stewards of that responsibility, but to do it, we need to be free and open.”