Readers’ Toughest Questions for University Presidents

Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Last week, I asked: If you could question leaders of academic institutions like a member of Congress, forcing them to contend with any aspect of higher education, what would you ask them?

Replies have been edited for length and clarity.

Kay kept it short:

Given your massive endowments, why do you continue to serve such a limited number of students?

David posed three pointed questions:

1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told the nation, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will