FAREWELL TO NEBHE AND NEJHE
JOHN O. HARNEY
In October, I wrote NEBHE colleagues letting them know I would be retiring from the organization and the editorship of The New England Journal of Higher Education (NEJHE) in early January 2023.
I joined NEBHE in 1988 and, in 1990, became editor of NEJHE (then called Connection: New England’s Journal of Higher Education and Economic Development).
I noted in my letter to colleagues that I strongly believe the regional journal is a key strength of NEBHE that should continue to be appreciated and bolstered.
We often characterized Connection and NEJHE as America’s only regional journal on higher education and its impact on the economy and quality of life.
In addition, the topics we’ve covered are just too important to cast our gaze elsewhere.
New England’s challenging demography—where some states now see more deaths than births—means there are fewer of us to nourish a creative workforce and exercise clout in Congress.
This makes our historical strength in attracting foreign students and immigrants to build our communities and industries all the more important.
Growing chasms in income and wealth between chief executives and employees, meanwhile, agitate antidemocratic and racist forces. While too many critics dis snowflakes, dangerous trauma grows among students and staff.
The killer pandemic exposed our fault lines, but also showed the promise of joining together behind scientific breakthroughs … and behind one another.
See a few more parting thoughts here.
And as always, thanks for reading. —John O. Harney