2024 APLU Annual Report

Download the 2024 APLU Annual Report

Letter from APLU President Mark Becker:

I am pleased to share the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ 2024 Annual Report.

The past year has presented an array of challenges and opportunities for the public research university community. As a membership organization, APLU’s role is working with our membership to magnify the positive impact of our institutions in driving student success; fostering research and innovation to meet societal needs, and deepening community, economic, and international engagement to benefit all.

APLU’s convening role is at the heart of achieving these aims. In 2024, more than 3,500 individuals attended APLU’s in-person convenings such as council and commission summer meetings and the APLU Annual Meeting. Countless more attended virtual convenings giving institutions access to senior government officials and subject matter experts on a wide array of topics.

As you’ll read on the following pages, APLU made progress in 2024 on many issues, including to:

• Successfully advocate against the proposed outright elimination of Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work Study, preserving funding for the programs, while building support for Pell Grant increases. Successfully work to pare back proposed steep cuts to federal research agencies, including the National Institutes of Health.
  
• Work closely with federal research agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy to advance research security regulations that protect research while preserving an environment that promotes open scientific engagement.
  
• Work with the administration and Congress to address the fallout of a botched FAFSA rollout and ensure a smoother FAFSA application process in 2025.
  
• Advocate for federal investments in the Farm Bill that would support research infrastructure improvements at public and land-grant colleges of agriculture, fostering practical applications for agricultural technologies, supply chain innovations, and a strong domestic agricultural workforce pipeline.
  
• Examine career readiness efforts at several member institutions and share findings from the study while announcing an effort to convene member institutions around career readiness services set to launch next year.
  

The entire APLU team looks forward to building on the important work already underway at APLU while creating new ways for APLU to deliver value for our members. Although 2024 was an extremely busy year, we know the year ahead promises a host of new challenges and opportunities, including a new administration and Congress, the AI revolution reshaping the education and research landscape, and public skepticism about the value of a college degree.

I am confident the public research university community will collectively rise to the challenges ahead. Every APLU member is a powerful force dedicated to changing and improving lives. Together—learning, sharing, innovating, and advocating through APLU—our public and land-grant universities are an unstoppable force for good.

Sincerely,
Mark Becker
APLU President