During the 2021 spring term, University of Oregon President Michael Schill is teaching an honors college class titled “Higher Education in the United States: An Introduction to Key Issues and Challenges.” 
In an interview with Around the O, Schill said that the COVID-19 pandemic “amplified and accelerated some of the ongoing pressures on higher education,” and that this class dives into some of these challenges. 

Caroline Doyle, a fourth year UO honors college student, is a student in the class. Doyle said that she thinks this past year has “spotlighted so many issues in higher education,” so now is an important time to talk about it. 

“It’s really interesting to hear what everybody has to say about these issues, and each student has different perspectives on different things, like finances, diversity and inclusion,” Doyle said. “I think it’s a really relevant class.”

Doyle also said she is done with all her graduation requirements, except for defending her thesis, so she thought taking a class led by the university’s’s president would be a unique experience. 

“Honestly I wanted to see if we would get to know him in a different light, like on a personal note and kind of figure out how much he’s willing to share with his students,” Doyle said. 

Myles Nelson, another fourth year UO honors college student, also said he wanted to take the class to experience having Schill as a teacher. 

“Higher education is cool and all, but I thought it would be more interesting to see how open the president is talking about certain aspects,” Nelson said. 

Nelson said that the class is a “deeper dive into how higher education is run,” and that having Schill teaching the course gives a more “holistic view” that students would not usually get to have. 

“Shockingly, he is more open to talk about things than I thought he would,” Nelson said. “Going into this class I was like ‘Oh this is gonna be fun,, I’ll grab my popcorn, like some of the most liberal students going at him,’ but he’s kind of taken it stride for stride and is willing to open up a little bit and talk about what’s going on.” 
Doyle said that she does not feel like she has gotten to know Schill personally yet, but that she hopes by the end of the course she will have gotten to know him have gotten to know him a little bit better. 

“We’ve just been discussing such relevant materials that we haven’t really got on a personal note yet,” Doyle said. 

Both Doyle and Nelson said that at the beginning of the class, the students and Schill made an agreement that they will not disclose certain things talked about in the class. 
“The very first class there was kind of like a shared agreement document, and basically it was almost like the classic saying ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,’” Nelson said. “His reasoning was because, not quote for quote but pretty close, ‘I’m a high power individual with a lot of people who would not like to see me in this job, so if you want me to be open, you need to keep it in here,’” Nelson said. 

Despite this, Nelson said that there are still certain topics that Schill skirts around answering. Nelson said one of these was a question about financial aspects that were payment roll- -related, and another one was about the UO’s decision surrounding 2021 commencement. 

Doyle said that students in the course are not willing to just submit and listen, but also want to ask important questions. 

“It’s a little weird, a little bit intimidating at first,” Doyle said. “You want to be able to challenge him a little bit, but you don’t want to come across disrespectful so it’s a weird balance.” 

Nelson said that he thinks not only are not only are the students in the class are learning from Schill, but that Schill is learning from the students,, as well. 
In an interview with Around the O, Schill said that understanding different points of view is “one of the most valuable parts of the college experience.” 

“I just think it would be cool if he could do this more often,” Nelson said. “Students see the administrators as this unknown group of people that just kind of decide on what we pay for tuition and other policy changes. Getting this opportunity to actually talk with those people is very valuable.”