Transforming Higher Education

Dr. Mary Landon Darden is a higher education futurist, author, and leadership expert. She is the Founder and President of Higher Education Innovation LLC, which began in in 2015. The mission of HEI is to “transform higher education.” Darden is the author of two books co-published with the American Council on Education and Rowman and Littlefield: “Entrepreneuring” the Future of Higher Education: Radical Transformation in Times of Profound Change (2021), which is the Winner of the 2021 American Book Fest Award (education/scholarly) and was named one of the “best higher education books of all time” by “Bookauthority;” and Beyond 2020: Envisioning the Future of Universities in America (2009), which was adopted as a textbook in the higher education administration doctoral program at Harvard University.Dr. Joanna L. Kile is a distinguished leader in higher education, workforce development, and institutional transformation. With more than three decades of experience, she has held executive leadership roles at multiple institutions, including serving as Vice President of Instruction at Texas Southmost College. She is currently the CEO of Higher Education Innovation, where she leads strategic initiatives to drive transformation and innovation in higher education.

• ForewordAcknowledgementsChapter 1: Introduction to Transforming Higher EducationChapter 2: York County Community College: Entrepreneuring Workforce Development, Recruiting and AdmissionsChapter 3: Kentucky State University: A New President Leads from Extreme Existential Crisis to Near Stability in One YearChapter 4: Northwest Florida State College: Building Bridges to the Future Through RelationshipsChapter 5: City University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College: How a Workforce Innovator Swept His Division from Barely There to International Success in Less Than Two YearsChapter 6: Elizabethtown Community and Technical College: Finding Success by Asking People What They Need and Then DeliveringChapter 7: Texas Southmost College: Building Workforce Programs to Serve Unique Community NeedsChapter 8: Houston Community College – Southwest College: How A President Reimagines Institution’s Partnering, People, and TechnologyChapter 9: Belhaven University Ahead of the Curve: How to Move Quickly and Proactively to Build OpportunityChapter 10: Bladen Community College: How a Rural North Carolina College Reimagined Itself Using Data-Driven Decision Making, Strategic Planning, and Radical Organizational ChangeChapter 11: Southwest Tennessee Community College: An “Audacious” Redesign, Reinvent, and ResetChapter 12: Claremont Lincoln University: A New Model for Higher EducationChapter 13: Unique and Entrepreneurial Niches: Building Exceptional Programs that Serve as Pathways to Cultural, Financial, Social Justice, and IndustryChapter 14: Multnomah University: How Excellent, Transformative Leadership Makes the Difference in Times of Existential CrisisChapter 15: ConclusionAbout the Authors

As a champion of entrepreneurship in higher education, I found?Transforming Higher Education?to be a compelling call to action. The real-world case examples from small rural colleges to large urban institutions underscore that all colleges have the capacity to turn challenge into opportunity with innovative action and bold leadership.