IngenioUs

In her latest IngenioUs blog article, Kristine Barnett asks us to consider the value of collective leadership in higher education, As she wisely points out, focusing solely on individual leaders can undermine the collaborative potential within academic teams. Higher education thrives when diverse perspectives and expertise are harnessed collectively; when all perspectives are honored and when ever...

 In his most recent  ⁠IngenioUs⁠  blog article,  ⁠David J Staley ⁠ asks universities to consider long-term visionary thinking as an important tool for ensuring their relevance. According to Staley, this means taking to heart the meaning of "visionary" leadership, something he suggests most university boards don't really want. As Staley astutely points out, the art of envisioning some...

In this mini episode of an IngenioUs, Dr. Lauren Way speaks with Dr. Reena Lichtenfeld, presenter for our upcoming leading edge thinking in higher education webinar entitled, 'From SMART Goals to Stellar Teams: The Power of Trust and Accountability.' In this webinar preview episode, we learn about the "Accountability With Care" system, an approach that equips higher ed leaders wi...

In her latest IngenioUs Blog article, Kristine Barnett suggests that the act of courageous leadership is not just about the destination but the journey of personal and professional development that goes beyond the institution's walls. And while not everyone is born with an abundance of "intestinal fortitude," Barnett says it can be nurtured over time through self-awareness, commitmen...

In his latest  ⁠IngenioUs University Design blog⁠  article,  ⁠David J. Staley ⁠ reviews a new, provocative collection of essays, edited by Seth Rudy and Rachael Scarborough King, entitled  ⁠ The Ends of Knowledge: Outcomes and Endpoints Across the Arts and Sciences  ⁠ (2023).  As others have pointed out, 'this is a book about why we do what we do, and how we might know when we are done.' G...

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 that leadership varies greatly across different ins...

I n his recent  Ingenious Blog  article,  David Staley  reviews Chris Gallagher's book " The Integrator",  which calls for a new vision for higher education. Gallagher is critical of the current push towards 'unbundling' and suggests that colleges and universities will need to be neither unbundled nor rebundled, but rather  integrated . Gallagher suggests that 'we need to...

In her latest IngenioUs blog post, Kristine Barnett asks us to think about how we can use our leadership roles and authority to help those around us navigate the change that is increasingly commonplace on nearly every college campus. A little support can go along way, suggests Barnett. Read more here.

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 hanging on to every chord, every lyric, every story. As an educator watching this performance unfold, Melissa Morriss-Olson couldn’t help but wonder: What if teachers could replicate e...

In her latest IngenioUs blog article, Kristine Barnett asks us to consider the value of stepping away from time to time. Even in the busiest of seasons, an occasional break may be essential for your professional well-being. And there are ways to do this that make your re-entry less stressful, counsels Barnett.

In our final Season 4 episode, we speak with Dr. Melik Khoury about the remarkable reengineering he has led at Unity Environmental University . Khoury is an education entrepreneur whose blend of industry-disrupting vision, strategic financial planning, and managerial expertise has fostered sustainable growth in higher education for over 16 years. Under his leadership, Unity is beating the odds, gr...

Is your institution ready for all of the changes impacting online teaching and learning?  In this new IngenioUs Mini episode, we speak with Bay Path University Senior Director of Learning Design and Educational Technology, Dave Allen about the upcoming Leading Edge Thinking webinar he is facilitating on July 19 from 12 - 1:15 pm (EST). Joined by a panel of leading e-learning thinkers and leaders,...

At her presidential inauguration in 2018, North Park University president Mary Karsten Surridge referenced the nine men who served in the role before her noting that leadership at the institution had moved from bowties to neckties to pearls. As the first woman president of this urban faith-based university on Chicago's north side, Surridge's appointment is both historic and deeply personal. During...

In her latest IngenioUs blog article, Kristine Barnett asks us to reflect on how we are doing with delegation and leadership strength spotting and cultivating. According to Barnett, we are more likely to achieve great things institutionally when we can mentor our team members to be adaptable leaders who know how to respond to what is needed in the moment. As she concludes: "Teams and organiza...

With new student enrollment pressures on the rise, many college leaders are now looking at student retention as a critical means to ensure institutional health and viability not to mention student success.  Along with data-informed planning comes the need to build cross-campus partnerships with faculty, staff, students, and a wide span of college departments. Effective advising, the use of key tec...

In this episode, we speak with Randy Bass , Vice President, Strategic Education Initiatives and Professor of English at Georgetown University , and Ashley Finley, Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President at the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) about the course they co-teach at Georgetown: University as a Design Problem. This course approaches t...

No matter how seasoned you may be, this time of year can unmoor even the most balanced academic leaders. From last-minute requests to unanticipated campus conflicts and schedules that leave little time to breathe or think, this time of year can test the mettle of even the toughest among us. Do you have a plan for self-care to ensure you emerge on the other side with your resilience intact? Check o...

In this highly dynamic conversation, Bernard Bull shares his insights about everything from the importance of mission-informed innovation and understanding that innovation is not a one size fits all endeavor to building consensus and support for a new and creative effort, working through resistance to knowing when to move on, and what it takes to develop the mindset and capacity for educational in...

When Meredith Woo took over as the president of Sweet Briar College in 2017, the nonprofit Virginia women’s institution was seen as a troubled place. Alumnae had wrestled the college back from the brink of closure, but it still faced financial issues, resulting in a warning from its accreditor.  Understanding that there is no playbook for how to bring back a college from the brink of closure, Woo...

In her latest IngenioUs blog article, Kristine Barnett asks us to consider what leadership attributes and approaches do we look for in building our teams. As Barnett's article makes clear, 'getting the right people on our bus' can be critically impactful for our own leadership effectiveness. She shares her top list for what she looks for when she hires and promotes to leadership roles...

The challenges facing higher education are enormous. Some are known to us while others are not. For example, most higher ed leaders did not have the emergence of a global pandemic on their list of concerns even five years ago. And yet, a handful of futurists like David J. Staley did raise the possibility of a pandemic as something that higher education should be preparing for. What other significa...

More than four decades ago, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) opened its doors to offer graduate education in psychology to students who wanted to make a real difference in their communities. Thanks to a postcard in the mail, MSPP was renamed William James College in 2015, after the father of modern, applied psychology and someone who embodied the roles of educator, innova...

In a recent New York Times piece, the writer asks a critically important question: Colleges have been an important small-town lifeline--what happens when they shrink? In their hot-off-the-shelf new book, Knowledge Towns: Colleges and Universities as Talent Magnets , David J. Staley and Dominic D.J. Endicott suggest that this current scenario is an opportunity for such institutions to rethink and r...

Widely recognized as one of higher ed's most innovative small college presidents, Michael Alexander is passionate about the value of the small college  experience.  Harboring a lifelong aspiration of becoming a small college president, Alexander landed his dream job as president of Lasell University (Newton, Ma) in 2007, following successful corporate careers, first in media and entertainment and...

We all make mistakes, every day, but do we take the time to reflect on what we might learn from those things that don't go as planned?  In this month's IngenioUs blog article , Kristine Barnett advises us to take a few moments to reflect on our most significant mistakes. How was it handled? What did you learn? What did you do as a result? What would you have done differently?  In many ca...