Today’s universities operate under a powerful neoliberal logic—one that prizes competition, rankings, and profit over public purpose. As a result, higher education is increasingly shaped by market forces: student debt continues to climb, access is restricted, academic jobs are increasingly insecure, and knowledge itself is treated as a commodity. This talk explores how we got here and introduces the concepts of a Regenerative Metaparadigm and Regenerative Institutionalism as alternative guiding frameworks, rooted in eight emerging economic approaches—binary economics, well-being economics, doughnut economics, ecological economics, regenerative economics, community wealth building, the solidarity economy, and degrowth. Together, these frameworks offer a compelling alternative to neoliberalism, presenting a vision for reimagining higher education not as a system of extraction and exclusion, but as a regenerative, inclusive force for social and economic renewal. To bring this vision to life, the frameworks will be connected with Raewyn Connell’s idea of The Good University, illustrating how the Regenerative Metaparadigm and Regenerative Institutionalism can help institutions better serve the public good by delivering equitable, accessible education for all.

Speaker: Ralph P. Hall, Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEPP), Joann Boughman Innovation Fellow at USG, Associate Director, Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP), Head of Outreach and Engagement, Center for European and Transatlantic Studies (CEUTS), Affiliated Faculty, Honors College, Affiliated Faculty, Myers-Lawson School of Construction.

Ralph P. Hall