Millions of unemployed Americans qualify for federal benefits as dislocated workers, but only a small fraction of them participate in free education and training that could get them back on their feet. In Missouri, it’s about 4 percent.

Dissatisfied with that figure, state leaders are trying something new: Instead of waiting for unemployed residents to come to them, they’re recruiting.

As Americans expect more from higher education than ever before, and as states rely on public colleges to meet their education, workforce, economic, and even civic goals, the job of a public-college system leader has grown in importance and stress. 

“It is a moment of immense opportunity,” says Nancy L. Zimpher, chancellor emeritus of the State University of New York system, “in spite of the divisive madness that slows us down.”