What’s at stake in the race to rescue small private colleges and universities and why you should care.
Is Your Board Ready for a Crisis?
Recently the Detroit Free Press devoted an entire Sunday section to the plight of what it called Michigan’s “invisible” colleges and universities. The Free Press termed it a “fight for survival”. Enrollment is down and many of these schools are not financially sustainable.
This is not just a Michigan story. It actually applies to small liberal arts schools in small towns across other parts of the country. In the midwest alone, there are about 90 of these institutions with nearly 200,000 students enrolled each year. Many of them are among the most at risk. However, there are many others that may be forced to merge or close in the next few years. And if they do, little towns like Albion Michigan will likely disappear too because the college is the economic engine that makes the city work.
The problems are complex, the stakes are high, and the time is short.
When institutions are in peril and need rapid, dramatic changes, governing boards may tend to put on the brakes. Because they are built to maintain stability, they may want to cut the budget, eliminate programs, or layoff faculty and staff. As a result, boards are not able to move far enough or fast enough to adapt and flourish in the new reality. The main reason is that they don’t see another way. The ones likely to survive will support a courageous president and embrace rethinking how they operate.
Board Leadership Renewal Masterclass
On Wednesday, February 24th at 3pm EST, we are hosting a masterclass focused on helping your governing board pivot to be ready for a post-Covid future.
You should come if you are a president, cabinet member, board chair, board member or anyone who supports these leaders. There is no cost and you will hear about how to design and be ready to hold a transformational board retreat in just four weeks.
In full disclosure, this masterclass is a summary of a new course we will be offering in March, but this session will give you specific guidance for what needs to happen every step of the way. This session will be live on Zoom so there will be plenty of opportunity for questions.
So, please join us. It could be the most important hour you spend this week.
Albert B. Blixt, Managing Partner
New Campus Dynamics