Innovation and differentiation can buoy small colleges

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. Sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning.







In May 2020, New York published an interview with Scott Galloway in which the marketing professor and media entrepreneur declared, “The strongest brand in the world is not Apple or Mercedes-Benz or Coca-Cola. The strongest brands are MIT, Oxford, and Stanford.” He predicted that the pandemic would accelerate the demise of all but the top 50 colleges and universities, with technology enabling elite schools to maintain their financial health by increasing their enrollments tenfold. He likened the rest of higher education to department stores in 2018, on the verge of inevitable obsolescence.



The new “college material”



I found myself revisiting Galloway’s assessment—and respectfully disagreeing with it—while listening to Bard College President Leon Botstein speak earlier this month at an event for prospective students and their families. During the Q&A session, a parent asked Botstein what he wanted the Bard “brand” to be. “What Bard stands for, which is another way of answering your question, is a real belief that learning and studying is not only enjoyable but that it will influence the way you conduct your life,” Botstein replied.



Put another way, Bard is Patagonia to Harvard’s Nike.



Learning by heart



I believe Bard and other schools like it will survive in a world of academic oligopolies because they’re taking a different approach than the giants. Bard doesn’t mirror the structure of a traditional college or university, resulting in a more interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning, faculty say. And Botstein says the college, located about 90 miles north of Manhattan, outpaces larger institutions when it comes to improving educational access to some of the most marginalized students. For example, the school has admitted 85 displaced Afghan students, mostly women, who had to flee the country when the U.S. military pulled out of the country, and it offers associate and bachelor’s degrees to incarcerated men and women in New York prisons.



These programs don’t just differentiate the school from bigger competitors—they have also helped attract donors. Billionaire George Soros has pledged $500 million to Bard as part of a $1 billion endowment drive, citing the college’s social impact work in announcing his contribution. To be sure, the school has struggled financially until recently. Earlier this year, S&P raised Bard’s bond rating to BBB–. In comparison, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and other schools with large endowments boast AAA ratings on their long-term debt.



I’m rooting for smaller schools to succeed. I don’t really want to live in a world where our workplaces and institutions are dominated by graduates of 50 elite schools. And I believe the same spirit of innovation that fuels startups and small businesses can be found in academic institutions. Their survival may depend on it.



Education beyond branding



Do you think Scott Galloway is right? Will most colleges and universities go the way of Sears and Kmart? Or can innovation in how higher education institutions approach education—like most other sectors—save the day? Send your thoughts to [email protected].



Read, watch, and listen: the future of learning



The best Scott Galloway profile ever. Read more



These organizations are changing how we learn. Read more



Rethinking the value of a college education. Read more



How an education visionary remade Bard. Read more



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