The need for a paradigm shift in university governance has been explored recently in the literature. In particular, a proposed move from neoliberal values of commodification towards ecological values of care and relationality may offer universities a way forward to achieve greater alignment with the wicked problem of the Anthropocene. University managers have a key role to play in this transition and their influence may support a move towards a 'new dawn' for higher education. Alternatively, managers could create the inertia to prevent this and push universities towards a 'silent spring' where crumbling neoliberalism fails to address the socio-ecological crises that define the early twenty-first century. The factors that determine which direction is taken are explore here.