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Lecture Description: Public confidence in higher education has declined over the past decade, contributing to growing scrutiny of colleges and universities and raising questions about higher education’s value, mission, and relationship with the communities it serves. Last month, AAC&U released The Trust Agenda: A Framework for Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education, a new report designed to help colleges and universities respond proactively to this moment. Join the authors of the report for a panel exploring the report’s recommendations to strengthen trustworthiness, accelerate innovation, safeguard institutional autonomy, and deepen relationships with students and communities.

Kathryn Enke is the Vice President for Leadership and Strategy at the American Association of Colleges and Universities. In this role, she works cross-functionally with AAC&U senior leaders and external partners to envision and execute leadership development programs, oversee the Presidents’ Trust, and co-lead AAC&U’s initiative to advance public trust in higher education. Before joining AAC&U, Enke served for over a decade as chief of staff at the College of Saint Benedict, a Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college for women. As a strategic thought partner for three successful presidents, she led many interim and special projects, including two national conferences on the liberal arts and the institution’s response to and communications amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She coordinated the work of the college’s Board of Trustees and oversaw the college’s policies, practices, and training related to sexual misconduct and sex discrimination. Enke earned a BA in history from the College of Saint Benedict and an MA and PhD in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research focuses on how individuals’ identities mediate their experiences in higher education, particularly at women’s colleges and liberal arts colleges. Enke is president of the College of Saint Benedict Alumnae Board and a past chair of the NAPAHE Board of Directors. She was elected as an alumna member of Phi Beta Kappa in 2017, and she received the NAPAHE Professional Achievement Award in 2022.

Jeremy C. Young is the senior advisor for strategic initiatives at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). He is the co-director of AAC&U’s Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education (APT) initiative and the lead author of AAC&U’s report The Trust Agenda: A Framework for Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education, published in June 2026. A national leader on issues of academic freedom and university autonomy, Young was previously the director of state and higher education policy and led the Freedom to Learn program at PEN America, and has also worked at the American Historical Association. He was assistant professor of history and director of the Institute of Politics and Public Affairs at Utah Tech University, and has also taught at Grand Valley State University, Indiana University, and Indiana State University. He currently serves on the board of the Partnership to Advance Transformation in Higher Ed (PATH). Young holds a BA in history and music from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an MA and PhD in US history from Indiana University. He is the author of The Age of Charisma: Leaders, Followers, and Emotions in American Society, 1870-1940 (Cambridge, 2017), and the co-author of three America’s Censored Classrooms reports at PEN America.

Felicia Fullilove is an associate director in the Office of Leadership and Strategy at the American Association of Colleges and Universities. In the role she works to address public trust issues between the public and higher education. Felicia is a former Senior Policy Advisor at the Department of State where she negotiated international science agreements and developed interagency strategies to support U.S. leadership in critical and emerging technologies, open science, research security, and global S&T cooperation. Prior to joining the Department of State, Felicia managed the American Chemical Society’s ACS Approval Program, which works to set standards for undergraduate chemistry education. Felicia was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow (STPF) at the National Science Foundation between 2018-2020 and a Lecturer of Chemistry at Spelman College. In 2024, she was elected as Honorary Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her professional achievements and contributions to inclusive participation in STEM. Felicia holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Butler University.

Scout Meredith Best is the Program Coordinator for the Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education initiative at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, where she focuses on engagement and policies that strengthen relationships between colleges and their communities. Before joining AAC&U, she served as the Assistant Director for the AP Higher Education Fellows program at the College Board. She has also taught or contributed to programs at NYU Shanghai, Yale University, and McGill University. Her work explores the intersections of educational policy, public trust, rurality, and access to opportunity. Scout holds a BA in International Studies from Dickinson College and an MA in Political Science from McGill University, where her research examined Russian and Chinese diplomatic engagement in South America.