Data from a variety of sources are used to examine enrollment and employment trends in public higher education. U.S. public institutions of higher education are charged with supplying much of the human capital that will power the economy and with filling the pipeline of qualified workers. Data suggest that there are several important "disconnects" that state colleges and universities must be prepared to tackle in their own academic pipeline building activities. Racial and ethnic diversity is becoming more of a challenge at each level of the academy, and significant disparities remain in participation of minorities at various levels of academe. The greatest diversity is found at the undergraduate level; "pipeline" fractures are especially evident at levels of campus leadership where racial and ethnic diversity continues to lag. The next decade will test the creativity and foresight of higher education leaders and policymakers alike as the reality of increasing racial and ethnic diversity meets the reality of economic restructuring and fiscal retrenchment. Attending to pipeline issues will be essential for public higher education if opportunity and success are to be articulated fully. (SLD)