I will confess that I am always amused when economists or social scientists formalize something most of us already understood, as if they had discovered it. In this case, I think two economists, David M. Cutler and Edward L. Glaeser, have done us all a favor with their report “How have universities survived for nearly… Read more: University Design | The University is a Unique Organization by David J. Staley

She Leads the Way: What Women Leaders Teach Us About the Leadership Higher Education Needs Now The third of seven short pieces drawn from conversations on the IngenioUs podcast. I’ve talked with more than thirty women presidents and senior leaders in higher education, and a few ideas kept surfacing no matter who was in the… Read more: Identity: Reclaim, Not Reinvent by Melissa Morriss-Olson

She Leads the Way: What Women Leaders Teach Us About the Leadership Higher Education Needs Now The second of seven short pieces drawn from conversations on the IngenioUs podcast. I’ve talked with more than thirty women presidents and senior leaders in higher education, and a few ideas kept surfacing no matter who was in the… Read more: The Path: Composed, Not Climbed by Melissa Morriss-Olson

She Leads the Way: What Women Leaders Teach Us About the Leadership Higher Education Needs Now The first of seven short pieces drawn from conversations on the IngenioUs podcast. I’ve talked with more than thirty women presidents and senior leaders in higher education, and a few ideas kept surfacing no matter who was in the… Read more: The Power of Knowing Your Why by Melissa Morriss-Olson

A few years ago, I sat down at a pottery wheel for the first time and quickly discovered that clay did not care about my resume. The clay did not care that I had spent decades in higher education leadership, served as a provost, launched new academic programs, written books, or taught leadership to doctoral… Read more: What Clay Has Taught Me About Leadership by Melissa Morriss-Olson

There is a moment in leadership that I have come to recognize more clearly over time, though I did not always have language for it. It does not come with a decision. In fact, it comes well before any decision feels possible, showing up more quietly, often in the middle of ordinary work, when something… Read more: The Loneliness of Seeing It Clearly Before Others Do by Melissa Morriss-Olson

I’m back from a consulting gig at a small university in a small city located somewhere in the Midwest. Compared to other similar institutions, this university is doing okay. Enrollment seems steady, donor relations are solid, they’ve built a raft of new buildings. The university has one distinctive major that attracts many students from around… Read more: University Design | Stickiness By David J. Staley

The hidden discipline of leadership is not just transparency. It is knowing when, how, and how much to say. In an earlier reflection, I wrote about the cost of what we don’t talk about in leadership. Silence, shaped by culture and expectation, can limit how effective we are. In my recent conversations with college and… Read more: What Leaders Know—but Cannot Fully Say by Melissa Morriss-Olson

Leslie Valiant, The Importance of Being Educable: A New Theory of Human Uniqueness (Princeton University Press, 2024). Leslie Valiant begins his book with an extraordinary claim: “We live in an intelligence-driven culture.” (xiii) By this, he means that intelligence is everywhere in our vocabulary. We seek to measure it — as in an Intelligence Quotient—we… Read more: University Design | Educable By David J. Staley

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing dozens of college and university presidents on the IngenioUs podcast. One insight keeps resurfacing in those conversations: the leaders who succeed at innovation rarely begin with bold ideas. They begin with something much quieter—listening. Why listening—not vision—is where meaningful change begins. Not long ago, I was… Read more: The First Leadership Habit of Innovation by Melissa Morriss-Olson

Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective (Springer, 2015) Jane Jacobs, the great urban theorist and activist, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, did not start out with the goal of becoming the foremost writer about cities.  That is, it does not… Read more: University Design | Interestingness By David J. Staley

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate most about leadership—especially in higher education—is how much of it is shaped not only by what we say and do, but by what we learn to leave unspoken. Every institution has a version of this. Topics that generate discomfort. Questions that are technically allowed but subtly discouraged.… Read more: The Cost of What We Don’t Talk About in Leadership by Melissa Morriss-Olson

Four years ago, we were blindsided by the unleashing of LLMs into educational spaces. Faculty in the humanities and qualitative social sciences have responded with a mix of bewilderment and resistance, some pledging to ban these tools outright, fearing that students would rely on them to generate essays rather than do their own thinking and… Read more: University Design | The AI Symposium By David J. Staley

By Melissa Morriss-Olson Innovation is a word we use easily in higher education. It appears in strategic plans, presidential speeches, accreditation narratives, and fundraising priorities. We talk about it as if its importance is self-evident—and perhaps it is. But despite the rhetoric, innovation fails far more often than it succeeds. I don’t make that claim… Read more: Why Innovation Fails: Reflections From Where I Sit

The core argument in Peter Turchin’s book “End Times” is that social and political upheaval results from what he identifies as “elite overproduction.” Looking throughout history, Turchin claims that: when a state such as the United States has stagnating or declining real wages (wages in inflation-adjusted dollars), a growing gap between rich and poor, overproduction… Read more: University Design | Underemployment by David J. Staley

In the Spring of 2021, during the closing moments of the pandemic lockdowns, after a year spent teaching classes over Zoom, an exasperated student, a graduating senior, quipped at the beginning of my class: “This sucks.” He was referring to the setting of my class and of his other classes. While grateful, on the one… Read more: University Design | Universities and Intangible Capitalism by David J. Staley

The Economist recently reported on a new Silicon Valley trend: the “solopreneur.” They give the example of Sarah Gwilliam, who started a business offering grief counseling and the management of family affairs after the death of a loved one. (The Economist quipped that the business is “wedding planning for funerals.”) Gwilliam is the only human… Read more: University Design | The Soloversity By David J. Staley

I caught a glimpse of the future the other day while attending a Zoom meeting. There were six of us in attendance that day: four humans and two AI note takers. Automatic note takers are not new, of course. We see them frequently pop up as one of the screens in our Zoom meetings. Before… Read more: University Design | The Agentic Student by David J. Staley

By Melissa Morriss-Olson “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment, and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.”—Gilda Radner Higher education leaders today are navigating uncharted waters: global pandemics, financial upheaval, demographic shifts, and technological disruption. In this turbulent landscape, some leaders are not… Read more: IngenioUs Leadership: Chaos as Catalyst – Piloting Through Challenges and Opportunities

By Melissa Morriss-Olson The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of any institution with which I am or have been affiliated. There’s no denying it—higher education is in a tough spot right now. The drumbeat of political interference keeps getting louder, with growing efforts to… Read more: What Is a University For? Reclaiming the Role of Higher Education in an Age of Disruption

By Melissa Morriss-Olson “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”—Albert Einstein Higher education leaders today face unprecedented challenges: shifting demographics, declining public trust, financial fragility, and rapidly evolving student needs. Within this complex landscape, some leaders are standing out—not because they have all the answers,… Read more: IngenioUs Leadership: Architects of Impact – Leading by Design

I define perpendicular change as an unexpected deviation from the assumed trend line, usually a 90° shift from the presumed direction the future is headed.  If it taught us nothing else, the COVID pandemic revealed that change is not always gradual or predictable or linear—it can be sudden and disruptive, moving at a sharp angle… Read more: University Design|Perpendicular Futures: A Footlights by David J. Staley

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” —Peter Drucker Higher education is undergoing an existential transformation. Rising college closures, student skepticism about the value of a degree, demographic cliff pressures, and accelerating advances in technology are all converging to create a perfect storm. In the face of these challenges, innovation is… Read more: IngenioUs Leadership: Seven Practices That Drive Transformative Innovation by Melissa Morriss-Olson

Ned Scott Laff and Scott Carlson, Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn’t Matter—and What Really Does (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025). Andrew S. Hanks, Shengjun Jiang, Xuechao Qian, Bo Wang, Bruce A. Weinberg, “Do double majors face less risk? An analysis of human capital diversification,” NBER Working Paper Series, Working Paper 32095, January 2024 Many,… Read more: University Design | Rethinking the Major: Building a Resilient Education by David J. Staley

Since 2019, more than 60 U.S. colleges and universities have closed permanently, merged, or consolidated.[1] Another 200 private institutions face significant financial vulnerability.[2] With undergraduate enrollment declining by 8% over the past decade and public confidence in higher education dropping from 57% to 36% since 2015, the sector faces unprecedented challenges.[3] [4]Yet amid this existential… Read more: Higher Education is in Crisis. Women Leaders May Hold the Key. By Melissa Morriss-Olson

Jessica Riddell, Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities and Other Organizations for Human Flourishing (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024). As a theorist of higher education, I am very interested in imagining new forms of the university and have long been fascinated by the challenge of institutional transformation. Innovation in universities, as in any complex system, requires a willingness… Read more: University Design |The Plasticity of the University by David J. Staley

“Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us, unplayed.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes Leadership in higher education is more than strategic planning and operational efficiency—it is about anchoring one’s decisions in a deeply rooted sense of purpose. Over the course of my interviews on the IngenioUs podcast, leaders have consistently highlighted… Read more: IngenioUs Leadership in Action: The Power of Purposeful Leadership by Melissa Morriss-Olson

“When doing what we most love transforms us into the best possible version of ourselves and hints at even greater future possibilities, the urge to explore becomes a feverish compulsion.”—Steven Kotler[1] Leadership in higher education goes beyond operational management—it is about creating a culture that inspires every individual to unleash their full potential. Over five… Read more: IngenioUs Leadership in Action: The Power of Unleashing Human Experience and Potential by Melissa Morriss-Olson

Susan Goldin-Meadows, Thinking With Your Hands: The Surprising Science Behind How Gestures Shape our Thoughts (Basic Books, 2023). As an educator, I am exquisitely sensitive to the information students are sending me with their gestures and body language, such that I am certain many find my pedagogical style a little unnerving. I recall a class… Read more: University Design | Reading Gestures: The Power of Nonverbal Communication in Education by David J. Staley

In a recent University Business column, an intriguing list highlighted the 100 best university presidents of the last decade. Surprisingly, none came from elite, resource-rich institutions. This revelation underscores a profound truth: leaders in under-resourced, less prestigious environments often develop—by necessity–a unique skill set that higher education urgently needs in today’s rapidly changing and increasingly… Read more: Innovating Against the Odds in Higher Education Leadership by Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson

An old friend of mine–we were both big soccer fans–once told me that the main job of a soccer head coach is to be fired. I never quite believed him when he told me that some 10 years ago, but now I don’t think I can deny the truth of the statement. When the team… Read more: University Design | Distributed Academic Leadership: The DAO University by David J. Staley

By Melissa Morriss-Olson When I first envisioned the IngenioUs podcast, it was during a time of significant upheaval, as the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many in higher education, I was searching for new ways to navigate the volatility and uncertainty that had become our new reality. What started as an experiment—an idea… Read more: The Top Three Lessons I’ve Learned from Hosting the IngenioUs Podcast

I don’t mean to single out Wittenberg University, our neighbors to the west of us here in Columbus, but their recent decisions signal a disquieting trend in higher education. As reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Wittenberg plan to deal with a debt crisis and other similar problems affecting small liberal arts colleges by… Read more: University Design | Relationships vs. Programs by David J. Staley

Let’s face it: higher education is in a whirlwind of change. It’s not just about keeping the lights on anymore—it’s about steering through a perfect storm of challenges while trying to spot the silver linings. Our Season 5 IngenioUs podcast conversations brought us face-to-face with some of the most innovative and thoughtful leaders in the… Read more: Eight Big Ideas for Navigating Higher Education’s New Era

Martin Betts and Michael Rosemann, The New Learning Economy: Thriving Beyond Higher Education (Routledge, 2023). The philosopher Roberto Unger defines “the most advanced practice of production” in the world today as the knowledge economy, and Martin Betts and Michael Rosemann place learning at the center of this knowledge economy.  Incumbent institutions of higher education could… Read more: University Design | Educational Well Being by David J. Staley

Pia Lauritzen, Questions (Reflections: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023) I teach an upper division history course that draws a majority of non-majors. We are at the point of the semester where they must declare the topic of their research papers. I also ask them to identify the question that is directing their research. This last… Read more: University Design | A Question-Centered Theory of Higher Education by David J. Staley

Mariya P. Ivancheva, The Alternative University: Lessons from Bolivarian Venezuela (Stanford University Press, 2023). Bryan Penprase and Noah Pickus, The New Global Universities: Reinventing Education in the 21st Century (Princeton University Press, 2024) David J. Staley, Alternative Universities: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education pbk.(Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) When I wrote “Alternative Universities”… Read more: Reimagining the Ivory Tower: A Fresh Take on ‘Alternative Universities’ and the Call for Imagination By David J. Staley

“The roof is ready to blow off this place!” That’s what a colleague said at a recent campus event, buzzing with the energy of transformation. After years of navigating rough waters—transitioning to all-gender admissions, tightening our financial belts, cycling through staff changes, and coming out on the other side of a pandemic—our college is on… Read more: Short-Term Pain or Long-Term Gain? By Kristine Barnett

Michael S. Roth, The Student: A History (Yale University Press, 2023). Michael Roth has written an interesting history of higher education through the lens of “the idea of a student.”  He demonstrates that over time and across diverse places, there have been different ideas about who a student is. In describing the diverse meaning of… Read more: University Design. The Idea of a Student. David J. Staley.

In a world where the narrative surrounding higher education is increasingly tinged with skepticism and doubt, the call for leaders to champion a message of hope and positivity has never been more urgent. Amidst a chorus of cynicism, it is incumbent upon those at the helm of our educational institutions to raise a counter-voice—one that… Read more: Hope-Casting: An Imperative for Today’s Higher Education Leaders by Melissa Morriss-Olson

During my time with a small college president labeled as ‘quirky’, I uncovered a troubling reality: ‘quirky’ translated into an ego-driven, brash, and polarizing style. His tenure brought financial distress, warnings from regional accreditors, and rampant employee infighting. Regrettably, this scenario is far from unique. Charismatic leaders can unify and build trust, but they can… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window: How Much Leader Should There Be In Leadership? By Dr. Kristine Barnett

As the landscape of higher education shifts, so too must the paradigms of leadership. As we conclude 2023, the call for visionary and transformative leaders—those who see beyond challenges to opportunities, who innovate and pioneer change—is more urgent than ever. Drawing insights from our Season 4 IngenioUs conversations, we present six big ideas that promise… Read more: IngenioUs Inspiration and Insights for 2023: Six Game-Changing Leadership Ideas

The hockey star Wayne Gretzky is purported to have said that one secret of his talent was that he “skated to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”  The quote has been employed by business strategists to describe a strategy of anticipation rather than reaction.  Colleges and universities might wish… Read more: University Design: Anticipatory Program Development by David J. Staley

A colleague, wearied by the day-to-day challenges, recently confided in me about the hurdles they encounter in pushing forward goals that would benefit students and the institution. This leader, acting and speaking with the best intentions, still faces the inevitable resistance, mostly from faculty and staff. While some pushback can spark innovation and productive dialogue,… Read more: Through The Provost’s Window: Cultivating Courageous Leadership by Dr. Kristine Barnett

Seth Rudy and Rachael Scarborough King, eds. The Ends of Knowledge: Outcomes and Endpoints Across the Arts and Sciences (London: Bloomsbury Academic,2023). One segment of Marc Andreesen’s recently uploaded “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” caught my attention:  “Our enemy is the ivory tower, the know-it-all credentialed expert worldview, indulging in abstract theories, luxury beliefs, social engineering, disconnected from… Read more: University Design: The Ends of Knowledge By David J. Staley

Academic leadership is an incredibly engaging discipline in its own right. You may hold a degree in educational leadership, have devoured countless books or articles, or relished a stellar podcast or two. Even among other leaders at diverse organizations – all striving for similar goals—the journey of a senior leader can be solitary. Many believe… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window: Universal Laws of Leadership by Dr. Kristine Barnett.

The Integrator Chris W. Gallagher, College Made Whole: Integrative Learning for a Divided World (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019). Chris Gallagher begins College Made Whole by observing that “colleges and universities are not designed to promote integrative learning.” (xiii) Integrative learners are those with the ability to “connect and synthesize ideas, knowledge, and skills across… Read more: University Design by David J. Staley

By Dr. Kristine Barnett On my campus, the last few months have been marked by orange cones and yellow caution tape. Dumpsters have covered parking spots. The soundtrack to our work week is bulldozers and trucks. The campus is undergoing a bit of a facelift, with buildings being demolished or significantly renovated. We are sprucing… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window: Supporting Change.

When Bruce Springsteen took to the stage at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA last week, it wasn’t just a concert; it was a masterclass in engagement. For over three hours, ‘The Boss’ had an entire stadium—including me–hanging on to every chord, every lyric, every story. As an educator watching this performance unfold, I couldn’t help… Read more: Born to Teach: What Educators Can Learn from Bruce Springsteen by Melissa Morriss-Olson

By Dr. Kristine Barnett Out of Office   This installation of The Provost’s Window is delayed, as I took a much-needed vacation. Originally planned for July 2020, this trip was punted more than a few times. It was worth the wait. During my travels, I reflected on how important it is to get out of… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window: Out of Office.

By Dr. Kristine Barnett Every provost I know is good at juggling. On some days, you are juggling soft round balls. Others find you juggling projects and priorities that are anything but soft. It takes good leadership to keep these things smoothly moving along. And it helps to have a well-functioning team to share the… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window-A Leader in Every Seat

As a long-time academic, this time of year always feels like the silly season. Is your desk piling up with last-minute requests? Are you on the receiving end of wide-ranging complaints and grievances? Is campus conflict rearing its ugly head? This time of year can unmoor even the most seasoned academic leaders. It’s likely that… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window-RX For Leaders: Adjust Your Crown and Keep Walking

By Dr. Kristine Barnett Scanning for Leadership Traits – What Are You Looking For? When I interview candidates for academic positions, I ask them to describe their leadership styles and how they will lead from the positions they are in. A candidate I was interviewing recently turned the tables and asked me “What are you… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window-Looking for Impactful Leaders

Knowledge Towns David J. Staley and Dominic D.J. Endicott, Knowledge Towns: Colleges and Universities as Talent Magnets (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023) I have spent the last six months as a consultant with a team developing the campus master plan for a small regional university nestled in Appalachia.  The university shares many characteristics of other… Read more: University Design | David J. Staley

By Dr. Kristine Barnett I remember my first big workplace doozie, when I was a young pup of 25 working in corporate communications for a major health insurer. To my horror, I realized I had approved printing more than 250,000 copies of a postcard that listed a customer service number of 1-800-XXX-XXXX. The 7 x’s… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window: The Value of Mistake-Making

Universities as Geostrategic Assets William C. Kirby, Empire of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2022). My inbox fills each week with reports about the demise of higher education in the United States.  These take various forms: the surveys of Americans who feel… Read more: University Design | David J. Staley

By Dr. Kristine Barnett Chances are, you didn’t get into your leadership position without some help. Maybe you benefitted from a formal mentoring relationship, or maybe you had some informal mentors. Perhaps you are mentoring others. When we are tested, we often turn to the wisdom of our mentors and counselors. I’ve had mentors from… Read more: Through the Provost’s Window: The Wisdom of Mentors

Calm in a Crisis by Dr. Kristine Barnett Chances are, you’ve faced a campus crisis. In fact, it’s possible that some of us are dealing with one right now or have one brewing and we just don’t know it. Whether classified as minor, major, or catastrophic, crises of all magnitudes are unavoidable for the higher… Read more: The Provost’s Window: Crisis Management 101

University Design | David J. Staley Paul Anand, Happiness Explained: What Human Flourishing Is and What We Can Do to Promote It (Oxford University Press, 2016). Rather than “what do you want to do?” with your degree, I have taken to asking my students “what do you want to become?”  I want to disassociate in… Read more: The College of Human Flourishing

If news reports are any indication, much of higher education is in a freefall.  According to the recent Fitch Ratings 2023 Outlook Report, higher education is in a ‘deteriorating state’ due to inflationary costs, labor pressures, and mixed enrollment results. The latest projection is considerably bleaker than the 2021 outlook, especially for colleges in the… Read more: Leadership Matters. Now More than Ever.

Strengthening Your Culture IQ Peter Drucker, the renowned management consultant, said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Drucker’s quote reminds us that institutional culture can be a more forceful influence than a great strategy. Leaders need to quickly and accurately read the culture to understand the intangibles of campus life. Of course, there is “culture,” and… Read more: The Provost’s Window: Views on Academic Leadership

University Design | David J. Staley Phillip Brown, Hugh Lauder and Sin Yi Cheung, The Death of Human Capital? Its Failed Promise and How to Renew It in an Age of Disruption (Oxford University Press, 2020) Richard A. Detweiler, The Evidence Liberal Arts Needs: Lives of Consequence, Inquiry and Accomplishment (MIT Press, 2021) Wendy Fischman… Read more: The Fall of Human Capital, and the Rise of “Capital of the Mind”

Kristine Barnett, Ed.D is a career-long educator and academic administrator who often has a unique perspective on all aspects of academic leadership. Dr. Barnett has cobbled together a career at a variety of institutions that have afforded her several different scenic vistas. For the most part, her leadership has been focused on small, private, liberal… Read more: <strong>The Provost’s Window: Views on Academic Leadership</strong>

University Design | David J. Staley la paperson, A Third University is Possible (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017) Clyde W. Barrow, The Entrepreneurial Intellectual in the Corporate University (Palgrave Pivot, 2018)  John Andrew Rice was the designer and founder of Black Mountain College, the arts-centered liberal arts college that thrived from 1933-1957.  Black Mountain… Read more: The Entrepreneurial University

University Design | David J. Staley Glyn Davis, The Australian Idea of a University (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2017). Of all the problems facing the higher education sector today, the lack of differentiation may be the root cause of many of them. Too many colleges and universities look like every other college and university, offering… Read more: FOLD: “Fear of Looking Different”

Why does a potential student choose one school over another?   Economists and management scholars and practitioners suggest it comes down to the value proposition or in other words, the value that students and their families attribute to your institution.  Building on the quote from Warren Buffett, “Price is what you pay, value is what… Read more: What is a Value Proposition and Why Does it Matter for Your Institution? By James Wilson III, PhD

A few days ago, I had coffee with a recent graduate of Ohio State.  An engineering major, he now works for a big Silicon Valley tech firm.  He said that what got him his job was not his major or his grade point as much as the side projects he engaged in while at Ohio… Read more: Side Hustle College by David J. Staley

One effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the transition to remote work.  Many knowledge workers have discovered that given the permission to “work from anywhere” they may seek out places with affordable housing, lower cost of living and better quality of life.  Some small towns, secondary cities and rural areas have found themselves in a position… Read more: The University as Public Utility by David J. Staley

I was recently invited to formally state my teaching philosophy, a useful exercise for any educator to practice every so often.  I wrote that “I am committed to ensuring that undergraduate students are prepared to enter into a world of dynamic change, and to lead and thrive in such a complex world.”  Rather than training… Read more: An Education for Dynamic Change by David J. Staley

There is a newly emerging field I would like to christen “university design:” an approach, a methodology for thinking about the future of higher education. First, some definitions. One definition for the word design means “to give form.”  Thus, when we are talking about industrial design, that means to give form to objects. Graphic design… Read more: University Design Mindset: An Essential Skill for University Leaders by David J. Staley, Ph.D.

Some of the readers of my book Alternative Universities, while excited at the idea of enterprise-level innovation in higher education, tell me in the same breath that it would be difficult to actually start any of these universities.  It’s an interesting thought experiment, these readers insist, but regional accreditors would never sign off on models… Read more: Innovation and Accreditation by David J. Staley

This autumn, my institution, The Ohio State University, welcomed the largest number of students ever to its Columbus campus: over 61,000 students.  For at least the last century, and certainly since the 1950s, Ohio State has been one of the largest campuses in the country. But today, even the size of Ohio State pales before… Read more: Higher Education at Scale by David J. Staley

If you could start a university today from scratch, what would you create? Most of us will never be offered this inviting opportunity.  Stephen Lehmkuhle was so fortunate, recounting his efforts as the founding chancellor of the University of Minnesota at Rochester in his memoir Campus With Purpose: Building a Mission-Driven Campus. Aside from being… Read more: Redesigning the University by David J. Staley

I was leafing through a Forbes magazine in 2019 while on a flight and came upon an extraordinary advertisement.  Featured prominently was a young woman in a college-style sweatshirt, which in block letters bore not the name of her university but rather the figure $67,928.  “Why did she borrow $67,928 for tuition?” the advertisement asks. … Read more: Who should pay for job training? David J. Staley Ph.D.

One of the speculative designs in my book Alternative Universities was titled “Polymath University.”  This would be an institution where, as a condition for graduation, a student must major in three disparate disciplines. So, rather than majoring in History, English and Philosophy or Accounting, Finance and Actuarial Science—each cognate disciplines to the others—a student would… Read more: A University for Polymaths By David J. Staley

This article is excerpted from a recent IngenioUs podcast episode with Greenfield Community College President, Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernandez.  Click here to listen to the full-length episode. Where did your professional journey begin and what initially drew you into higher education? YSF: I have to say it’s a little bit of pragmatism and a few incredible… Read more: Lessons on Leading and Living with Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernandez

In this era of heightened disruption and challenge facing nearly all of higher education, we hear—increasingly—the call for innovation. Innovation is viewed as the golden ring that, once caught, will carry institutions through to a brighter future.  And yet, many of these calls view innovation narrowly, often through the lens of technological tools and approaches.… Read more: Is It Time to Redefine Innovation?

This article is excerpted from a recent IngenioUs podcast episode with Ease Learning CEO, Laurie Pulido.  Click here to listen to the full-length episode. Can you tell us about your professional journey, the work you’re now doing at Ease Learning, and where the inspiration to start your company came from?  LP: Every time somebody asks me that… Read more: The Future of Online Learning with Ease Learning CEO, Laurie Pulido

We welcome David J. Staley, Ph.D. as guest author for this week’s IngenioUs blog.  To hear more of Dr. Staley’s insights about the future of universities, check out this IngenioUs podcast conversation:  https://anchor.fm/chelip/episodes/Imagining-the-University-of-the-Future-with-Dr–David-J–Staley-ejiuu9 Karl Jaspers began his 1946 book The Idea of the University with these words: The university is a community of scholars and students… Read more: The University and Truth by David J. Staley

By Rick Bailey A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the disruption of 2020 has forced the development of new capacities, capabilities and constructs in higher ed. I compared the process to learning to write with your secondary hand. It’s difficult to write with your left hand if you’ve been writing with your right… Read more: Higher Ed’s Path to a Post-Post-COVID Life

By Rick Bailey As an industry, higher education has been generally perceived as a huge ship that moved at a very slow pace. Nimbleness wasn’t a word we associated with higher ed; we thought change was nearly impossible. Whether it was processes or people who weighed institutions down, higher ed seemed not to be able… Read more: Becoming Ambidextrous

By Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson During season one of our podcast, IngenioUs, we ended each episode by asking our guests to tell us what is on their radar as they look to the future. I was inspired and encouraged by what I heard.  I was also struck by the 5 common themes that emerged across all… Read more: Looking Ahead to 2021 and Beyond: What’s On Your Radar?

We welcome David J. Staley, Ph.D. as guest author for this week’s IngenioUs blog.  To hear more of Dr. Staley’s insights about the future of universities, check out this IngenioUs podcast conversation:  https://anchor.fm/chelip/episodes/Imagining-the-University-of-the-Future-with-Dr–David-J–Staley-ejiuu9 This is a cover from Roswell Park’s 1841 book Pantology: Or a Systematic Survey of Human Knowledge.  “The present work,” he began… Read more: “Epistemological Culling” and the Future of Universities by David J. Staley

This article is excerpted from a recent IngenioUs podcast episode with Kaplan University Partners President, Brandon Busteed.  Click here to listen to the full-length episode. In 2018 you were named to your current position as president of Kaplan University Partners. Can you tell us about the work you’re doing at Kaplan and what Kaplan’s trying… Read more: Talking About Higher Ed’s Biggest Issues: An Interview with Brandon Busteed

This week we welcome guest blogger Dr. Jeremiah Nelson. Dr. Jeremiah Nelson teaches Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practice in Higher Education in Bay Path’s Higher Education Leadership and Organizational Studies (HELOS) doctoral program. He serves as Director of MBA Enrollment Management at Wake Forest University School of Business and President of NAGAP, the Association for Graduate… Read more: Reflections of an Adjunct

Change is difficult. We become socialized in how “we” do things, and it’s hard to let go of ways of working, especially if the new ways are still under development. Such is the case for higher education as we adapt to teaching and learning during a pandemic. Crises have a way of forcing us to… Read more: Transforming Organizations Through Bold Strokes and Emerging Strides

This week we are excited to welcome Ken Anselment as our guest blogger at IngenioUs. Ken is the Dan Saracino Chair of Enrollment Management at RHB and the Vice President for Enrollment and Communications at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. RHB helps great causes succeed by designing strategies to maximize student lifetime value, a manifestation… Read more: When Will We Return to Normal?

By Dr. William Massy We are pleased to welcome higher education financing and strategy consultant, Dr. William Massy as our guest blogger this week.  Dr. Massy has been active as a professor, author, consultant, and university administrator for more than forty years.  He holds emeritus professor status at Stanford University where he also served in a number of administrative roles including… Read more: Money Problems? Look to Your Academic Portfolios.

Leading in the midst of any kind of sustained crisis is risky business. Most crises involve at least two distinct phases.  And the work needing to be done in each is distinctly different.  For example, during the crisis phase (which is essentially what many colleges and universities have been experiencing since March) our priority is… Read more: Pandemic Inspired Leadership Lessons #2: Practice Adaptive Leadership

Ten Ways to Know What Students Want  We are pleased to welcome Gray Associates CEO and Founder, Robert Gray Atkins as our guest blogger this week.  To hear more of his insights about data-informed decision making, check out this week’s episode of the IngenioUs podcast here.  Since the end of the Great Recession, higher education… Read more: The Path Towards Academic Program Profitability

By Guest Blogger: Jeremiah Nelson, Ph.D. Dr. Jeremiah Nelson teaches Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practice in Higher Education in Bay Path’s Higher Education Leadership and Organizational Studies (HELOS) doctoral program. He serves as Director of MBA Enrollment Management at Wake Forest University School of Business and President of NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management. A… Read more: The Paradox of Innovation Management

If history is any indication, crises spur innovation.  For example, the great Renaissance was borne out of the Black Death, a time in which a third of Europe’s population died.  Historians have written that the horrors of the Black Death disease eventually led to a period of creative adaptation and the development of medical science… Read more: Pandemic Inspired Leadership Lessons: #1 Plan Now for a Post-Pandemic Future

According to recent studies, there is a shortage of qualified academic leaders willing to step up into senior leadership roles on college campuses these days. Even more alarming are the reports about the uptick in ever more short-lived senior leader stints.   For many top leaders, a desire to exercise one’s creative juices–to have an impact–is… Read more: Overcoming Obstacles to Innovation and Change and How to Respond

In my last post, I introduced some ideas for cultivating the synergy that fosters creative thinking and new ideas.  Particularly in academic organizations, we sometimes block our potential for creative thinking by not challenging those ‘unwritten rules’ or ‘sacred traditions’ that keep us tethered to outmoded beliefs and ways of doing things that no longer… Read more: Cultivating Creativity when Times are Tough—Part II

In last week’s post, I talked about the importance of nurturing an ‘innovative mindset’, especially when times are tough and the pressures to hunker down are overwhelming. And yet, from my own personal experience, I know that this is anything but easy.  On the average college campus, there are any number of barriers at play… Read more: Cultivating Creativity when Times are Tough—Part I

Creative thinking skills are more important than ever if we are to deal with the vast and complex array of challenges facing nearly all colleges and universities.  In my own research on successful college management practices, one of the most enduring characteristics of resilient institutions is an ‘innovative mindset.’  Especially when times are tough—like right… Read more: 5 Destructive Myths about Innovation