When Linda Katehi was six years old, growing up in war-ravaged Greece, she turned to her mother and said, "I do not want to be poor!" Her mother replied: "Then go to school and be a good student. This is the only thing that can save you."
She relentlessly pursued the dream that was born that day, overcoming sexism and xenophobia to graduate college as one of two women in her class and become a highly respected innovator in the male-dominated field of engineering. It was an American Dream, embodied in her appointment in 2009 as chancellor of the University of California, Davis.
As a signature proposal, she put forth a visionary plan to share her dream by expanding the university's reach both locally and globally—adding new interdisciplinary research areas and opening the doors to more foreign-born students to make UC Davis a global beacon of education.
The political backlash from opponents in the University of California system, the Davis campus, and the surrounding communities was familiar and vitriolic. It turned her dream into a nightmare that only ended when she let go of what she thought she wanted most.
Higher Ground
is a lyrically written and emotionally devastating window into the hidden world of academia—at once an intimate personal history, a high-tension workplace drama, and an unforgettable spiritual journey.