2020 CONCORDIA ANNUAL SUMMIT

Ensuring Access to Education as a Human Right

Main Stage

• • For John Sexton, efforts to ensure the safety of students and faculty at higher education institutions and preserve the quality of instruction being delivered during COVID-19 have been nothing short of impressive. This academic year, New York University—the largest private university in the world and of which Sexton is President Emeritus—is venturing to deliver as much in-person instruction as possible.

• “The effort that I have seen put into trying to deliver a quality education to our students and community […] is inspiring,” John Sexton  

  • Sexton sees online learning as a tremendous opportunity. Online tools have allowed him to personally communicate with each of his students in a manner that would not have been possible under the traditional in-person model. Online learning can also vastly democratize education. One example is the University of the People, an accredited American university of which Sexton is Chairman of the Board. UoPeople delivers a free, quality, completely online higher education to over 40,000 students in 200 countries, including in refugee camps.
  • Sexton acknowledged the recent erosion of some of the basic norms of constitutional governance, but reiterated his confidence that—were a constitutional crisis to arise as a result of the upcoming presidential election—the current members of the Supreme Court would respond with grace, nobility, and respect for the rule of law.