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Events • March 4, 2025 

# Saving Academia: A Conversation with Rep. Burgess Owens 

Higher education is at a crossroads. American universities are facing important questions about accountability and viability, including concerns about ideological influences, rising administrative costs, shifting academic expectations, and the growing challenge of student loan debt. But what are the underlying causes of these challenges, and how can we address them?

Join us for a thoughtful discussion with The Honorable Representative Burgess Owens, chairman of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, alongside Cato experts Erec Smith, PhD, and Andrew Gillen, PhD as they examine the challenges facing academia today and explore practical solutions for the future.

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

![Burgess Owens](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-02/burgess-owens-circle.jpg?itok=qxumu-j2) 

##### Rep. Burgess Owens 

Chairman of Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, US House of Representatives

[![ErecSmith-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-02/ErecSmith-cropped.jpg?itok=p8wlcACq)](/people/erec-smith) 

##### [Erec Smith](/people/erec-smith)

Research Fellow, Cato Institute, and Cofounder, Free Black Thought

[ 

](https://x.com/Rhetors_of_York) 

[![Andrew Gillen - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-04/andrew-gillen-cropped.jpg?itok=uRHLF979)](/people/andrew-gillen) 

##### [Andrew Gillen](/people/andrew-gillen)

Research Fellow, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://twitter.com/Gillen_Andrew_J) 

![Jordan Brewer](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-10/2023-09-28-Cato%20Institute-Jordan%20Brewer-12-min.jpg?itok=dRG5C-tf) 

##### Jordan Brewer 

Manager of Government Affairs

[ 

](mailto:jbrewer@cato.org)