How One Regional University Is Growing
Regional public universities have been hit hard by enrollment decreases.
But some places have bucked the trend. On a recent episode of Future U., Jeff Selingo and I sat down with the president of one of those institutions, Jonathan Koppell of Montclair State University, to learn more about their success.
One of our big areas of focus with Jonathan was male students. The topic of men isn’t one we’ve explored a lot on Future U.—yet. But it’s an incredibly important one. Although men make up over half the 18-to-24-year olds in the U.S., they’re vastly outnumbered these days on college campuses—just 41% roughly of undergraduate students. That’s a huge flip from historical numbers of course. And some of the steepest declines in male students have been among Black and Hispanic males. But where others have talked the talk, Montclair seems to be “walking the walk.”
We also explored what Jonathan’s tenure at Arizona State University taught him about leading innovation and culture change—where, in his words:
change was viewed as normal and not something that was a sign of instability or weakness or failure, but actually something to be pursued.
And Jeff and I talked about the central organizing feature that Montclair and the country’s other innovative colleges have in common.
You can also watch the full episode on YouTube.
Developing a Tech Mindset at the Leadership Table
Tech has found its way into nearly everything that happens on college campuses, yet many schools continue to treat it as separate from their core work. In this episode, Jeff journeyed to the Educause Conference, where a panel, including a Provost, CIO, and ED of grad programs, shared insights on elevating technology’s influence across campus. They discussed:
Why colleges should save a seat at the leadership table for their Chief Technology Officer
Promising practices for fostering collaboration across the tech and academic sides of the house
The power of data to drive smarter decision-making—and the obstacles to harnessing its full potential
Jeff’s Twitter debates with one of the panelists!!!
Check it out the episode here.
As always, thanks for reading, writing, and listening.