INSPIRE 2026: What’s Next for Higher Education?
From October 14 to 16, the California Education Learning Lab (Learning Lab) hosted INSPIRE 2026 at the Luskin Conference Center at UCLA. The event brought together higher education leaders, faculty, policymakers, and innovators to explore how artificial intelligence, changing workforce needs, and research on human and machine learning are shaping the future of higher education.
INSPIRE opened with its signature panel, “The New Reality of Teaching and Learning,” now in its third iteration. Panelists examined how AI and grade inflation are challenging assessments, how faculty decide whether and how to teach with AI, and how colleges can prepare students for a rapidly shifting job market. All of the panels were designed to bring diverse perspectives to serious challenges and spark meaningful dialogue.
“Higher education’s future will be shaped by the choices we make today: about what students need to learn, who has access to opportunity, and how we prepare people for a lifetime of change.” — Lark Park, Director, California Education Learning Lab, FoundationCCC
On Thursday afternoon, INSPIRE looked at the Master Plan for Higher Education, which has guided the state’s three public segments for over 60 years. The session “Structure, Function, Purpose — Do We Need a Better Model for Higher Education?” was moderated by Elizabeth González, Chief Program and Strategy Officer at the College Futures Foundation and panelists included:
- Christopher Cabaldon, State Senator (3rd Senate District), California State Senate
- Dr. Sonya Christian, Chancellor, California Community Colleges
- Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, UC San Diego
- Steven Mintz, Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin
Chancellor Christian’s presence connected the conversation to the California Community Colleges’ Vision 2030 priorities, including equitable baccalaureate attainment, which bears directly on how the community colleges fit alongside the UC and CSU systems, climate action, and skill-building for jobs that pay living wages.
The event provided a cross-segment forum for the Chancellor’s Office, UC and CSU leaders, faculty, and policymakers that exposed real challenges, such as preparing students and learners for the workforce, and the complexities of an evolving workforce-education ecosystem.
The Learning Lab, a program of FoundationCCC that was established in 2018 by Assembly Bill 1809, serves as California’s primary vehicle for improving learning outcomes and closing equity gaps across the state’s public higher education segments, particularly in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines.
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