There are currently 53 million working adults—nearly half of the U.S. workforce—who do not earn a living wage. Many of these workers are hard-pressed to find affordable, fast, and flexible options that allow them to advance into family-sustaining careers. 

In this interview, Connor Diemand-Yauman and Rebecca Taber-Staehelin of Merit America describe how their organization's innovative coaching and financial models are changing this scenario and making in-demand careers accessible to those left behind by the traditional education system.

This is the time of year when university officials might usually take a deep breath. Campuses are emptying out for the end of the academic year. Gone, for the most part, are the tent cities that student activists erected as a symbol of opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.

But this summer might feel longer than most. Many college leaders may be confronting federal investigations, disputes over student discipline—and the prospect that the protests start all over again in the fall.

Photo: Niki Williams

Kevin Guskiewicz, the new president of Michigan State University, is on a listening tour to learn the ins and outs of a campus he’s been hired to stabilize after nearly a decade of leadership turmoil. 

Governance strife is what drove Guskiewicz from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to Michigan State in the first place. As part of his hiring, he has a pledge of good behavior from a board known for its meddling. Will it last?