Scholars and activists are debating—sometimes with themselves—whether the ongoing protests happening throughout the world could be a watershed racial moment for higher education.

Will student uprisings this fall lead to deeper changes than those achieved by the anti-racism protests that shook campuses five years ago? What will it take to really address the role universities play in perpetuating racial inequality?

Regional public universities confer nearly 40 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in America each year and as many as one-fifth of degrees overall. They are particularly important in providing higher education access to minority students—and they play an enormous role in supporting their local economies. They also are struggling to survive.

But if these schools pull through this period, they could be pivotal to a robust and equitable post-pandemic recovery.