Northern Michigan University President Fritz Erickson gave a presentation as part of an Oct. 5 webinar titled “The Northeast and Midwest: Advancing the Public College and University Mission Amid Regional Population Loss.”

The webinar was sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. It examined the changing demographics of the Northeast and Midwest from the perspective of higher education. The presentation also highlighted the finding of WICHE’s new “Knocking at the College Door” report, which provides projections by state, race and ethnicity of high school graduates through the class of 2032.

Erickson and Glenn Cummings, president of the University of Southern Maine, discussed strategies for advancing campus missions in regions marked by declines in the number of high school graduates.