President Scholz spoke on a panel at the 2026 Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Economic Summit along with the presidents of Brown University, Cal-Berkeley, and Stanford. These were his opening remarks.
Good morning. It’s great to be here.
I’d like to briefly address an issue that’s top of mind: why have so many Americans lost confidence in higher education and what should we do about it.
I want to start with framing: the trust challenge is not unique to universities. Gallup’s long-running “confidence in institutions” polling shows Americans’ overall confidence across major institutions is low and declining. In other words: there isn’t a secret lever we can pull so the public suddenly “loves higher ed again,” while everything else stays unpopular. Being honest, when higher education leaders get together, I think we often miss this.
It is heartening that we are doing a good job once we get people onto our campuses. Lumina Foundation and Gallup published a report literally last week that said roughly nine in 10 associate and bachelor’s degree students say they are confident or very confident their education will both equip them with the skills needed for the job they want and help them secure employment after graduation. Families are similarly enthusiastic about their students’ experiences.
But most Americans age 25 and over—62 percent—don’t have a bachelor’s degree. If most people haven’t lived the “inside” experience of college, then we should not be surprised when our shorthand, our assumptions, and our incentives can read as: “We’re for people like us.”
Elitism, which universities are sometimes charged with, is often not the result of arrogance, but through invisibility. Institutions start talking to themselves.
Underlying the loss of confidence is a cratering of trust. In the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, only one-third of those surveyed believe most people can be trusted. Distrust cuts across income, age, and geography.
The consequences are significant: skepticism of AI and innovation, rising nationalism, stalled climate and local policy action, fractured relationships or neighbors, and declining optimism about the next generation—especially in developed markets.
Colleges and universities are also not trusted. At the same time, we are tasked with educating the next generation and expanding prosperity, through advancing research and spinning out new discoveries and companies.
The trust deficit is an existential challenge to higher education: our entire model depends on public buy-in from students, families, taxpayers, elected officials, federal agencies, donors, and employers.
So what’s the fix? I think it starts with a simple truth: confidence isn’t a PR campaign. It’s an outcome. It’s earned through lived experience, one interaction at a time. My one-word answer is “proximity.”
We address the lack of trust through outcomes that even better serve our students and their families. More concrete connection to the workforce needs of our states. Better engagement with local communities. Talk and act outside our bubble. Address head on concerns about affordability. Return on investment. And lean into our values of opportunity, prosperity, and human potential.
Legitimacy is built at the edges, not the center. If we want confidence back, we should stop asking, “How do we get people to trust us?” and start asking, “What would a skeptical neighbor need to see, feel, and experience to believe this place serves them too?”
That is work worth doing.