Ripped from the Headlines: “Why are you in Higher Ed?” The Story and Legacy of Lloyd Thacker

For my friends and associates in the college counseling world, the name Lloyd Thacker should be known, if not familiar. For many others outside of the field, his name is an unknown commodity. I recently came across an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, written by Eric Hoover, which eloquently described Mr. Thacker, his travels and purpose, his goals and dreams. How some of those goals and dreams have come true, while many others have not. But the man’s purpose has been so impactful (it certainly has impacted me) that I think it is worthy of sharing some elements of this article with you.

Former President of Hardwick College, Richard Detweiler, recalled hearing Mr. Thacker present at an education conference he attended some years ago. Thacker uttered at the audience, “Why are you in higher ed? Are you there to maximize revenue or are you there to make a difference in the world?” The stark reality is, that it very much depends on your job within the college universe.

Lloyd Thacker started his educational crusade while still in college. He attended UCSD in the 1970’s and pushed for curriculum change in Revelle College when he felt that curriculum was out of touch and not all that practical for his (and his fellow students’) educational needs. His efforts led to the formation of a curriculum committee at UCSD and Thacker was the only student member of said organization.

Thacker went on to work in the Office of Admission at USC but found the business-like nature of the school’s admission practices beyond his own moral and educational goals, opting for work at the high school counseling level in Oregon, where he worked for about fifteen years. Years of noting the frustration and anxiety of his students led Thacker to open the non-profit organization Education Conservancy in 2004, where he has spent the past fifteen years assailing the status quo in higher education.

He has been a champion of fair and honest play in admission ever since, whether that meant challenging the merit of standardized testing with the College Board, merit aid’s place in admission decisions, the value (or lack thereof) in college ranking systems, or the place athletics plays in a number of arenas (pun intended) in the college universe.

While the topics covered were always diverse, the end goals were usually the same: fairness for students, finding the right college fit for students, and morality in the admission offices and financial aid offices. Thacker’s gift is in his ability to ask questions of his audience and not lecture the answers to them. The answers, it seems, are up to all of us to solve and implement. Many of his contemporaries waited for his answers, many times, to no avail.

The closest Mr. Thacker got to providing hard and fast solutions to some of the biggest problems he has uncovered and shared about the college admissions universe came in the form of surveys and research that the Education Conservancy commissioned. One such research piece, conducted in three cities, interviewed college applicants and learned of their frustrations with the system, namely that there was a paradox to the messaging: one ear was hearing that students have to be specialized, being really good and having depth in an area of interest, while the other was being told to be diverse and well-rounded (and there is definitely some truth here!).

But the true legacy of Mr. Thacker and his life-long work in this field are counselors, like me, like Trevor, who champion the ideals of fair play, of finding the right college fit, of recognizing the vast number of quality options in the U.S. college marketplace, and, perhaps most importantly, helping families reduce anxiety and misinformation. We are comfortable picking up the torch. The flame is alight and held high…

The Chronicle of Higher Education is a paid site, so I am not able to share the entire original article, but for a peek at the Chronicle of Higher Ed article and site, please follow this link:

https://www.chronicle.com/article/An-Idealist-Set-Out-to-Change/246247