Sarah Holtan engages Tim Sullivan, Business Leader and Dean of the Sullivan School of Business and Technology at Carroll University, in a discussion about the potential of business strategies in revitalizing struggling universities. With a background spanning academia and executive roles, Tim brings a rare perspective that challenges the traditional educational frameworks hampering rapid change.

Tim spotlights the pressing issue of legacy governance structures, stressing how shared decision-making often slows necessary innovations. He offers a powerful comparison of academia to state governments where progress is equally tedious. But can the private sector's agility rescue colleges? Tim wholeheartedly believes so, shedding light on how financial incentives and market-aligned curriculums could be the key.

Are you curious about whether business models can revamp our educational systems for the better? Listen in to discover Tim Sullivan’s groundbreaking take on this transformation.

Episode Highlights

03:17 - I think the thing that surprised me the most about any higher education institution is the governance that's in place is very challenging. Its legacy. It's been there for a long time. And I think that until such time that some universities can really seriously take a look at their legacy governance and make some changes to it, it's going to be difficult to effect change.

25:23 - I need someone that can actually go into a board meeting and present how we're going to change this company, how we're going to move this company. And they can't do that unless they understand the basic business types of aspects of what they have and have communication skills.

32:16 - If you're transparent and you move the decision-making down the tree, down to the people that are working on it every single day, it can be done. It's an incredibly powerful model.

Sarah Holtan, PhD

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Tim Sullivan

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