The film will take viewers from his early days at a small Division I college to his brightest days so far.

As funding for arts education declines worldwide, experts ponder what students — and the world at large — are losing in the process.

Projecting an enrollment nosedive, West Virginia University is preparing for a lean future. Some call it an act of surrender, while others say it’s a prudent choice to be replicated elsewhere. At his semiannual State of the University address in March, West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee gave a blunt assessment to a crowd of faculty, administrators, students and staff: WVU is too big—and its student body shrinking too fast—to operate sustainably. With enrollment rates eroding and costs skyrocketing, the university had to shed weight, he said. Programs and positions that served the most students effectively would be prioritized; the rest were up in the air.

Coffee lounges and exclusive fitness studios help attract students. They also stratify the student body.

At 17 colleges and universities in 2020-21, students from families earning under $30,000 actually paid more in net price, which is the amount students pay after discounts and financial aid, than those from families making $110,000 a year or more