https://doi.org/10.1177/1946756720976709 World Futures Review 2020, Vol. 12(4) 337–350 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1946756720976709 journals.sagepub.com/home/wfr Special Issue on Imagining Possible Futures for the University Introduction: The Future Is Here in American Higher Education Higher education is in a time of transition (Alexander 2020; Aoun 2017; Davidson 2017; Gidley 2016). The increasingly complex and turbulent global environment surrounding post-secondary education has led to a formi- dable range of challenges, opportunities, and XX X 10.1177/1946756720976709World Futures ReviewNissen et al. research-article 2020 1 School of Social Work, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA 2 School of Business, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA 3 Cultural Resource Centers, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA 4 College of Education, Portland State University, USA 5 International Partnerships, Portland State University, USA 6 IELP Learning Center, Portland State University, USA Corresponding Author: Laura Nissen, Portland State University School of Social Work, 1800 SW 6th Avenue, Portland, OR 97201, USA. Email: nissen@pdx.edu A Public University Futures Collaboratory: A Case Study in Building Foresightfulness and Community Laura Nissen 1 , Melissa M. Appleyard 2 , Jeanne Enders 2 , Cynthia Carmina Gómez 3 , Andres Guzman 4 , Sally Strand Mudiamu 5 , and Sheila Mullooly 6 Abstract What happens when a public university decides to construct a cross-disciplinary, cross- functional initiative to explore the future, build capacity to be more “future ready” and resilient, and serve as a resource for the university and broader community to help them do the same? This article presents a case study of a “Futures Collaboratory” launched at a Pacific Northwest public, urban university in the 2019 to 2020 academic year. The three intersecting goals of the effort were to: explore and cultivate interest and capacity among interested individuals across campus; develop institution-wide “foresightfulness” as a collective; and end the year in a position to make thoughtful, creative, and well-reasoned recommendations about being more future-facing as a university. The dual pandemics of Covid-19 and white supremacy proved to deepen the commitment to learn and practice futures thinking. A primary goal was to ensure that the university would benefit from efforts to democratize foresight activities while taking practical steps to navigate our own systemic volatility, uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity. This article discusses the effort, early work, disruptions, and risks during the Collaboratory’s first year, as well as the emergent reflections, opportunities, and recommendations prepared for university leadership. Special attention is paid to the consideration of equity and social justice in the future of higher education and the tools and resources needed by the sector to build liberatory futures. Keywords futurism, foresight, university, systems change, planning