Thought Sparks with Rita McGrath & Paul LeBlanc

A visionary leader from a rather surprising place, Paul LeBlanc has presided over the dramatic transformation of Southern New Hampshire University and shown many skeptics that it is possible to reinvent our institutions.  From a sleepy school with a few thousand on-campus students experiencing their "coming of age" years, to a national powerhouse of around 135,000 enrolees, LeBlanc has been a beacon for rethinking what Higher Ed is all about.  In this #FridayFiresideChat​ we chat about his vision, which is that access to high quality, affordable education is still crucial for social mobility.  For many of SNHU's adult learners, the "job" they want to get done is to get a credential as fast as possible because they are by and large stuck. And even worse, some 80% have some course credits, and even student debt, but no degree.  Our conversation covered the changes taking place in higher education and how it is likely to change to become less of an industrial age relic and more forward looking.  One inspiring idea that I took away was Pauls' observation that every time the United States has had a major catastrophe, like the one we are going through now, we have reinvented higher education for the better.  Let's hope this black swan moment has a similar next step.  Enjoy listening to one of the most thoughtful strategists in the world of higher education today.