Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Once globally preeminent, U.S. universities are sliding into decline

hechingerreport.org · 6h · first reportShare

A student is reflected in a rain puddle at the University of California, Berkeley. A top chemist is leaving Berkeley for a Chinese university to establish a new AI-powered institute to speed up the development of new materials — one of at least 85 American university faculty members who have moved to China since the start of 2024. " data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/hechingerreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/HE-marcus-decline-1-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C514&ssl=1" /> The nation was distracted by other things when a quiet warning sounded: Support was diminishing for American academic research that had led to breakthroughs and innovation. That familiar-sounding worry came not this year, but near the end of World War II, in a pivotal government study by the wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development. […] The post Once globally preeminent, U.S. universities are sliding into decline appeared first on The Hechinger Report .