This speech addresses the problem of higher education's response to the forces of change and argues for a reinventing of higher education rather than repeatedly amending core teaching and research activities to fit new social and economic situations. Three higher education organizational dynamics (recruitment, budgeting, and handling outside criticism) are used to illustrate responding to change through continual institutional self-assessment and adaptation via systems thinking. The effectiveness of higher education's response to public changes depends largely on the ability and willingness of either side to mutually regard, trust, and communicate with the other. An escalation model is used to illustrate the dynamics of this communication interrelationship between public requirements and higher education's response; the focus being on understanding the public's needs and fully investing in addressing these needs. Also briefly discussed are the current reform measures (rewarding teaching, assessing outcomes, raising productivity) in higher education and their appropriateness for reinventing higher education so it properly responds to the public's changing needs. Finally, it is proposed that what is needed is a reform movement to make higher education favor and support knowledge to improve society, for improved knowledge of society's needs, and for the courage of learning organizations to engage in continuous change. (Contains 12 references.) (GLR)