Dr. L. Jay Oliva, President of New York University, Joins Rectors and Presidents From 31 Universities at NYU for League of World Universities Conference Dr. L. Jay Oliva, President of New York University, was one of 33 university leaders attending a conference on financial pressures facing institutions of higher learning world-wide. The participants, all senior representatives of League of World Universities institutions, gathered to hear from foundation heads, corporate leaders and higher education administrators on fundraising, tuition, and continuing education programs.
The conference, which was held at New York University on February 11-13, 1999, brought together university rectors and presidents from Europe, the U.S., Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This was the 5th “summit meeting” since the League was formed in 1991.
Dr. L. Jay Oliva, president of New York University and chairman of the League of World Universities, said, “To a remarkable degree, the same issues confront universities throughout the world, whether they be in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, or elsewhere. That has been one of the most compelling lessons of our previous summit’ meetings.
“Finding sources of revenue to continue excellence in teaching and in research is a world-wide problem for university administrators. As we met in the past on other issues technology, our links to primary and secondary education, and relations with our home cities the challenge of revenues emerged again and again.
“Our sister institutions have long depended on government support to a large degree. As government support for education has declined in their countries, they have had to contemplate new ways to raise revenues. This is an issue that U.S. colleges and universities have been confronting for some time. Bringing together American foundations, corporate leaders, and higher education administrators will give members in the League of World Universities some understanding of the U.S. model and some insight into the challenges confronted by U.S. institutions.”
The meeting was divided into four areas: foundation support, corporate and individual giving, tuition and fees, and continuing education. Expert speakers included:
o Dr. Vartan Gregorian, president, Carnegie Corporation of New York o Dr. John Wesley Cooke, president, the Henry Luce Foundation o John Marshall III, president, the Kresge Foundation o Donald R. Greene, president, the Coca Cola Foundation o Dr. Joseph Perpich, M.D., J.D., vice president for grants and special programs, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute o Ms. Anne T. Dowling, president, the Texaco Foundation o Martin Lipton, senior partner, Wachtell Lipton Rosen and Katz, and chairman of the NYU Board of Trustees o Ken Langone, chairman, president and managing director, Invemed Associates, Inc., and a member of NYU’s Board o Naomi Levine, NYU’s senior vice president for external affairs o Gerald Heeger, dean, NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and CEO of NYU On-line, a new, for-profit educational spin-off o David Finney, NYU’s vice president for enrollment services and planning
The activities of the League of World Universities began in 1991. At his inauguration as the 14th president of New York University, Dr. Oliva outlined a vision of NYU as a global university and shared it with a group of educational leaders from great-city research universities throughout the world. This led to the formation of the League, and the subsequent “summit meetings,” as well as numerous smaller conferences, planning meetings, exchanges and joint educational endeavors.
In addition to the conference, the rectors from League institutions attended the opening of NYU’s Lillian Vernon Center for International Affairs. The Vernon International House will serve as a focal point for many of the University’s international activities including seminars, presentations, conferences, and receptions.
The Vernon House will also serve as the Washington Square home of the League of World Universities. It will provide office space for rectors and other university leaders from the League who often spend time at NYU and in New York. It will also be the home for the Center for European Studies and the Student Center for International Study.
New York University, where the conference was held, was established in 1831. Located in New York City’s historic Greenwich Village, NYU was specifically modeled on the great urban universities of Europe and was founded to serve the emerging middle class and new Americans. NYU is one of the largest private universities in the U.S., and it has the largest number of students from foreign lands of any U.S. college or university. Through its 13 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and science, law, medicine, dentistry, business, education, nursing, public administration and policy, social work, and the cinematic and performing arts, among other areas.