Ten with Ken (Video)

Sure, your brand needs to "own a word" in the minds of your customers. But what if some think it's an insult? Ken Steele has been a higher ed brand consultant for decades, working with hundreds of institutions across North America.  He's seen plenty of "one-word wonders" – college or university brands that focus on a single word.  But no doubt, one of his favourites came from American University,...

When maverick university marketers create a brilliant brand, but campus stakeholders feel uncomfortable about potential sexist or racist implications, what do you do? In the "Wild West" of higher ed branding, the University of Wyoming charged ahead with its new slogan, "The World Needs More Cowboys" – and noted higher ed brand strategist Ken Steele thinks they were right to do so. The $1.5 million...

As Ten with Ken begins its FIFTH season, we're adopting some online video best practices and streamlined processes that we think will be big improvements!  1. New Brand! We're using a compressed, 4-second "bumper" more suitable to shorter videos, and showcasing 10K's first real logo. The icon, simultaneously a stylized "K" and the symbol for "forward-looking video," nicely sums up what we're all a...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Thomas Dunk taught at Concordia, McMaster, and Toronto before entering administration, as Dean at Lakehead and Brock Universities, and most recently as interim Provost of Brock (2016-18). His sociology research focuses on the intersection of environ...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. When Mike DeGagné was appointed President of Nipissing University in 2013, he became one of the first Aboriginal university leaders in the country. He had 25 years of public sector leadership experience in federal government departments and non-prof...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Celia Ross began teaching French Literature at Algoma in 1982, became Dean in 1997, and served as President from 1998 until 2010 – 12 busy years in which Algoma gained its independence from Laurentian University, and signed the Covenant with Shingwa...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. At the time, Brian Stevenson  was finishing his term as President & Vice-Chancellor at Lakehead University. (Moira McPherson replaced him as interim President in January 2018). Brian's extensive higher ed administrative experience includes founding...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Leo Groarke holds a PhD in Philosophy from Western, and has experience as Provost at the University of Windsor, and founding Principal of the Wilfrid Laurier campus in Brantford. Since 2014, he has served as President & Vice-Chancellor of Trent Univ...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Janice O'Farrell is the Associate Vice-President Enrolment Management at Carleton University, and has 24 years of experience in higher education. In this special bonus episode, Ken asks Janice to answer 3 key questions about higher ed innovation.  ...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Benoit-Antoine Bacon  holds a PhD in neuropsychology, and has 14 years of experience in university administration at Bishop's University (2004-2013), Concordia University Montreal (2013-16), and Queen's University (2016-18). After this interview, he...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Sara Diamond has worked in higher education for 3 decades, at BC's Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Alberta's Banff Centre, and Ontario's OCAD University, where she has been President since 2005. In this special bonus episode, edited to 10 min...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Pierre Zundel  has served as a university leader for almost a decade, first as President of the University of Sudbury (2009-2016), then as Provost and VP Academic at Laurentian University (2016-17), and since August 2017 as Laurentian's Interim Pres...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation. Catherine Newell Kelly was appointed Registrar at the University of Waterloo just a month before this interview, after serving for two decades as Director of Waterloo's Centre for Extended Learning, as well as stints as Executive Director of eCampus...

In September, the 10K crew went on location to the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, to interview a dozen higher ed leaders about trends in innovation.   Alan Wildeman has served as the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Windsor for a full decade.  (He was appointed in July 2008 and recently announced his retirement for the end of June 2018.)  In this special bonus episode, edited t...

Ken Steele interviews 12 university presidents and senior administrators about the innovations most likely to transform higher education over the coming decade, for a series called "Towards 2028." In this episode, we discuss active learning pedagogies and classrooms, online and blended delivery, immersive telepresence, virtual reality and augmented reality, and the centrality of libraries to an in...

The annual Ten with Ken Holiday Special "wraps up" its survey of more than 200 college and university holiday greeting videos from around the world, with examples from Austria to Australia, New Zealand to New England!   This week in Part 3, we look at dramatic presentations for comic or heartwarming effect, from parodies of classic movies to political satire, feel-good messages about community, gi...

The annual Ten with Ken Holiday Special continues its survey of more than 200 college and university holiday greeting videos from around the world, with examples from Austria to Australia, New Zealand to New England!   This week in Part 2 (of 3), we look at Holiday Shout-Outs, Cute Kids, Parody Carols, Singalongs, Carpool Karaoke, and the talented student choirs and bands that contribute to some b...

The annual Ten with Ken Holiday Special begins its survey of more than 200 college and university holiday greeting videos from around the world, with examples from Austria to Australia, New Zealand to New England! This week in Part 1 (of 3), Ken looks at examples ranging from snowy campuses to snowball fights, decorating students to decorated students, lights on campus to majestic feasts, gingerbr...

"Ten with Ken" continues from the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair. In part 3 of a 3-part series, Ken Steele talks to a dozen Ontario university leaders about creating the environment on-campus in which creative thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation mindset can flourish. In discussion, these senior administrators identified 10 key ways to help foster an environment more amenable to innovation,...

"Ten with Ken" continues from the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair. In part 2 of a 3-part series, Ken Steele talks to a dozen Ontario university leaders about creating the environment on-campus in which creative thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation mindset can flourish. In discussion, these senior administrators identified 10 key ways to help foster an environment more amenable to innovation,...

Ten with Ken hits the road again to attend the 2017 Ontario Universities' Fair, the largest PSE consumer show in North America. This year we spoke with a dozen university presidents and their designates about the latest innovations on their campuses, trends they see emerging over the next decade, and in particular, about how college or university leaders can nurture a culture of innovation on camp...

In a 12-minute episode that sums up 7,000 slides and 20 years of research, Ken provides a fast-paced overview of the full spectrum of innovation occurring in higher education around the world. In response to the 9 key forces for change, institutions are seeking efficiencies and new markets, including online and international students. They are collaborating and seeking alternative revenue streams....

Ken Steele returns for season 3 of "Ten with Ken". He has analyzed almost 7,000 data points over 20 years of trends and experiments, and consolidated them into a single graphic that sums up the whole spectrum of higher ed innovation. This week, we take a quick look at the 9 forces for change affecting colleges and universities worldwide. Politics, Funding, and declining Demographics are forcing in...

  Ken Steele completes his review of 12 higher ed rebrands in the past 2 years that sparked a backlash from campus stakeholders and alumni.   In part 1, we looked at half a dozen new visual identities that caused outrage, either because they were too crazy creative or deadly dull. https://youtu.be/khrMeE_hngs But there were also some competent rebrands that nonetheless met remarkable opposition, o...

Ken Steele starts reviewing the 12 higher ed rebrands of the past 2 years that caused outrage and opposition among faculty, students and alumni. Odds of a backlash are 10% overall, 20% at universities (4-year colleges), 0% at community colleges -- and 50% at arts institutes! This week, 5 disastrous rebrands that pretty much deserved what they got. 3 of them were overly ambitious, taking bold and d...