Many have argued that higher education should play a central role in addressing today's complex political, economic, and ecological challenges. However, there is also great anxiety and disagreement about how we should prepare students for an uncertain future, and produce knowledge that responds to contemporary challenges. In this article, I consider how three theories of change frame higher education in the present. Recognizing that different theories of change hold unequal social power, I emphasize a theory of change rooted in decolonial critiques that suggest contemporary challenges are ultimately the product of our fundamentally harmful and unsustainable modern system.