Controversial leadership decisions at Penn State and the University of California at Davis dominated headlines over the past month, yet the damage may extend well beyond those two institutions. Both crises have raised broader questions about the moral credibility of college leaders, adding weight to the nation?s brewing discontent with higher education at the very time when public disaffection for banks, government, and other institutions is also on the rise.
“It?s not a good time to lose credibility in America,” says Daniel Yankelovich, a pollster and scholar of public opinion. And “this just adds to the credibility problem” for colleges.