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Archive for the ‘Higher Education’ Category

Lesson 247 Foreign Policy and Partnerships

Posted in Branding, Higher Education, International, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on December 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

“In the century ahead, U.S. strategic interests will align more closely with India than they will with those of any other continental power in Asia.”  That is the first line of a very perceptive essay by former Undersecretary of State, Nicholas Burns, in the September-October issue of Foreign Affairs.

There was a widespread burst of enthusiasm in the U.S. when newly elected Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, signaled that he wanted to build a more ambitious partnership with the United States. And now there are reports that Russia’s Putin is making his own overtures to India about the possibility of building a pipeline and engaging in nuclear projects.

Anticipating this may be why Nicholas Burns urged the White House to respond quickly following Modi’s election. He pointed to already ongoing military ties and cooperative projects on space, science, technology and education as examples on which to build.

But Burns also acknowledged some stumbling blocks that need to be quickly overcome. These include specific trade disagreements, complications involving Pakistan, and discouraging taxes on new investors. Even educators have been encountering some surprising stumbling blocks.

For example, I traveled to India as a part of a delegation of university presidents and state legislators. We were welcomed by university administrators with open arms. There was little doubt they were interested in forming partnerships. Before we knew it we were being asked to sign letters of intent. Their primary interest was faculty exchanges. But it soon became obvious that these exchanges very likely would be lopsided. They could upgrade their teaching with US faculty. In most cases, however, their faculty would contribute little to US institutions. And there were financial barriers to establishing more comprehensive win-win institutional partnerships.

But if those barriers could be addressed I saw incredible long-term opportunities. I was there primarily as a speaker to deliver an address about why international higher education should be seen as a pure form of public diplomacy… people-to-people relationship building. I affirmed the value of strong institutional partnerships, and talked at length about the potential of those partnerships to solve the most pressing international problems… from water, energy, hunger, poverty, global warming and public health, to rebuilding institutions torn apart by revolutions.

If Mr. Modi’s interest in partnering with the U.S. is sincere and trade and education restrictions can be addressed, I believe a strong partnership between India and the United States has endless possibilities. And our shared commitment to democracies should clearly keep Mr. Putin’s self-serving nationalistic ambitions out of the game.   

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Lesson 244 New Leadership for Global Education

Posted in Higher Education, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on November 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Governments are changing their roles in higher education. Some are cutting back overall support, and others are investing selectively. Technology is dramatically changing how we teach, as well as how we explain our institutions to the world. And at the same time, globalization is turning academia into a truly global industry.

Now one of education’s most international associations, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is about to become even more global by announcing the appointment of Sue Cunningham, vice-principal for advancement at the University of Melbourne, as its new president.

Cunningham will follow one of the most successful presidents in CASE history, John Lippincott. For the last eleven years Lippincott built on the association’s US and European operations by adding major offices and initiatives in Asia and Latin America. And what’s more, he will also be leaving the association on a strong financial foundation…well positioned for industry leadership.

Cunningham brings a stunning background to CASE just at the right time. Beginning her career at St Andrews University, she then led advancement for Oxford University’s best known college, Christ Church, and eventually opened Oxford’s first China office. She has had a truly international career. With 17 years of global experience she is perfectly suited to lead CASE into a very challenging and exciting future.

I have described “advancement” to include all those managers, administrators and academics in colleges, universities and schools responsible for leading the advancement of institutions into a complicated future. This would include presidents, chancellors, head masters, provost’s, deans, student affairs professionals and more. And front and center with them will be the CASE member institutions and professionals in fund-raising, marketing, communication, alumni relations, and government affairs.

As the industry adjusts to dramatic changes in government support, technology, and economic forces, these dedicated professionals will be front and center solving the problems, seizing the opportunities, and leading the way. CASE is the place where everyone can come together to take advantage of education’s incredible potential.

For some time, I have been  imagining a future where institutions will gradually focus their research, teaching, and consulting expertise on solving the world’s problems, helping nations rebuild, and educating a generation of leaders with truly global perspectives and sensitivities.

The good news for CASE members is that those with experience and exceptional expertise in all areas of institutional advancement will have renewed and exciting career opportunities. And president-elect Sue Cunningham has the broad international experience necessary to integrate and mobilize this talent. CASE is now perfectly positioned  to play a leading role in helping to shape this global education industry that has so much international potential.

 

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Lesson 243 Rebuilding US Credibility

Posted in Higher Education, International, Lessons Learned, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on November 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This week I attended a forum on national security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). One of the sessions that impressed me most touched on the question of who is responsible for rebuilding societies torn apart by war and revolution?

It seems obvious to me that the decision to participate in war raises the basic question: “If you break it, do you own it?”  In the past, this question was rarely considered.  But it’s clear today that many uprooted nations desperately need rebuilding…physically, economically, culturally, and institutionally. But who should be responsible?

Should it be the responsibility of the damaged nation to rebuild itself? Or should it be the responsibility of the attacking country? Or can some kind of public-private partnership be formed to do the job? Or could an internationally funded NGO take on this enormous task?

This CSIS session got me thinking about the feasibility of creating a quasi-governmental organization to take on the task. Such an organization would combine legislature allocated funds with additional international and private funds to do the job. Globally engaged universities could also make significant contributions to the effort.

Regular readers of my blog are aware that I have been pointing out for a long time that the entire higher education industry is quickly becoming a global one. Over time more university talent and resources will inevitably get focused on helping solve many of the world’s problems. And this talent literally ranges all the way from public health to city management, and everything in between.

Further more, helping to launch such an initiative might be just the opportunity the US needs to rebuild much of its international credibility. If the US coordinated the planning, and the unique cultural and historical heritage of the devastated society would be preserved, all those charges over the years of American imperialism might finally begin to get put to rest.

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Lesson 241 More on Public Diplomacy & Global Education

Posted in Higher Education, International, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In trying to sort out how the US can do a better job of international communication, I have been thinking once again about the potential power of public diplomacy.

In a recent speech to the South Texas World Affairs Council I concluded that daily statements from the White House about strategy (or the lack of it) in dealing with ISIS seem to accomplish very little, and often actually contribute to more confusion and misunderstanding. This is so, I asserted, because people at home and abroad tend to hear only what they want to hear, have different meanings for words such as democracy and freedom, and interpret every action as an effort of a liberal or conservative leaning  administration to impose its partisan views on everyone. Messages coming from a biased source will always lack credibility with many audiences, and therefore be immediately rejected.

As I developed this presentation I was reminded again of hearing Fareed Zakaria at the Chautauqua Institution last August argue that the thousand years of tribal warfare in the Middle East has created a situation where nothing that can be said or done now will make any short-term difference. And while I am now convinced that Fareed is right, I still see people all over the world wearing “made in America” jeans, listening to US music from country to jazz, loving Hollywood movies, and sipping Starbucks coffee. They still tend to love their “idea of America,” but only when they discover it on their own. It’s when we try to sell ourselves as “exceptional” that we are rejected as those “ugly Americans” behaving  arrogantly!

So I once again conclude that we have a long-term chance of being successful if we more aggressively “model” our “idea of America.” And this will be best accomplished by people-to-people communication and exchanges carried out by motive-credible non-governmental organizations such as Sister Cities, international NGO’s, relief organizations… and, yes, the most globally engaged colleges and universities.

The promotional flyer for my World Affairs Council speech stated: “Professor Lauer sees global higher education as the ultimate form of public diplomacy, with the potential not only to educate global leaders and accelerate world peace, but also to focus research and expertise on solving the world’s most serious problems and rebuilding nations torn apart by revolution.”

Yes indeed, I now think that more than ever!

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Lesson 239 Leadership and Teaching

Posted in Higher Education, Leadership, Lessons Learned on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Over the years I have come to think that effective leadership, like teaching, involves enabling others to experience the personal fulfillment of developing and using their special talents. You give them challenging assignments and then share your “lessons learned” to help them develop. You then channel that talent toward achieving more focused personal, career, and institutional goals.

In the years I served as vice-chancellor at TCU I had periodic thoughts that this is what I was actually doing… conducting staff meeting as if my staff members were students in a class. But when I had these thoughts I also thought: What could they be thinking? Should coming to weekly staff meetings be so much like coming to class?

A typical staff meeting would begin with planning and implementation reports from staff members, all of whom were hired for their special talents and potential to develop them. I and others would follow with suggestions based on our current professional reading, past experiences, and lessons learned. Most suggestions would focus on enhancing the effectiveness of these already impressive and creative people. Then periodically we would review our overall institutional goals and discuss how each person’s creative initiatives were helping to advance those goals. Interestingly enough, the format of the graduate class I was teaching was surprisingly similar.

I look back now and find that I feel perfectly comfortable with this analogy. However, I do admit that  when I finally described this thinking to my staff, the surprised look on their faces clearly said back to me: “What the hell are you talking about ?

So I guess they didn’t get it. But even so, I must say I still like the analogy!

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Lesson 237 The Charismatic Leader Conundrum

Posted in Higher Education, Integrated Marketing, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on October 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Modi has been taking the US by storm this week. He is coming off as sincere, competent and refreshing. He is making a positive impression on most everyone, from corporate CEOs to politicians to the many people from India now living in the US. His appearances often include the music and dance of the culture, all of which suggests that there is a whole new day unfolding for India. He makes the possibility of cooperation and attractive partnerships seem endless. He is demonstrating what one highly visible, articulate, and colorful person can do to establish a whole new “image” for an entire nation.

But is this initial impact sustainable? If it is, this week will have been an incredible testimony of the potential of charismatic leadership. But if it is not, the inevitable backlash will likely produce serious and widespread disappointments.

Last year I traveled to India. The group I was with had to travel more than an hour to move out of the most devastating poverty I have ever experienced. And even then the city streets and countryside were extremely difficult to navigate. Very quickly I also learned that India is a country of very independent states, each of which has its own seemingly endless bureaucratic barriers to overcome. I could not imagine how long it would take to understand all this, let alone to establish mutually rewarding partnerships. I was there to visit universities, and right up front their representatives made aggressive sales pitches to sign partnership intention agreements. Yet it soon became very clear that the benefits would be all theirs, and the cost to us very high.

My clear impression was that many partnerships in India are one-sided, and positive opportunities are very difficult to find. The proof will be if Modi’s central administration can actually deliver on his promises in a country that has been run by highly independent and entrenched state bureaucrats.

Businesses and countries built mostly on one charismatic leader’s personality often do not thrive. But when that leader is the colorful spokesperson for a group of highly talented managers ready and able to deliver on the promises, wonderful things can happen. For Modi, the verdict is still out. But if he pulls it off, he could be just what the great nation of India desperately needs.

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Lesson 236 Actions speak louder…

Posted in Higher Education, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on September 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

President Obama’s speech to the United Nations was an impressive, far-reaching and complex statement that ranged from Ukraine to extremism in every corner of the Middle East. He challenged governments to act, and young Muslims to resist extremist recruiters.

Words can influence, but actions often speak much louder.

My long-standing fear has been that even when warfare eliminates an extremely ruthless group, fighting violence with more violence will only inspire the appearance of still another group that is just as violent, or even worse.

Many in the Middle East think that well-intentioned past initiatives of Western countries to export their cultural values seriously backfired. Referred to now as imperialism and colonialism, they argue that there has been a naive belief that one country’s democracy can be transferred to another. And while it may be true that there is widespread desire for freedom, justice and opportunity, many around the world believe there is more than one way to achieve it. They argue it must grow more naturally out of local traditions and ways of doing things. The process can only be supported by the West, not imposed.  Apparently, selling American democracy as “exceptional” all along has been perceived by Islamic cultures as arrogant and naive.

When Western imperialism and colonialism failed there was no democratic system relevant to the culture  ready to fill the void. When dictators also failed, the resulting chaos paved the way for the strongest extreme group to develop and flourish. And when it became a real threat, the warfare necessary to eliminate it began a never-ending cycle of violence. When one extremist group fails, another takes its place.

If all this is correct, what now can break this cycle of violence?  Educating globally savvy leaders, getting people together to experience and enjoy each other’s culture, and focusing research and expertise on solving the world’s problems, may be the only hope we have. Thankfully, all this is both the short and long-term potential of the expansion and globalization of higher education.

So we better get on with it. Given current realities, the airstrikes that began this week might be necessary.  But the cycle of violence will also likely continue. And we may be running out of time!

 

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Lesson 233 Strategic Communication and Leadership

Posted in Higher Education, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on September 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Weeks ago I mentioned here that I was writing another book about how those involved in advancing institutions will need to help prepare their constituents for dramatic change. As I was developing my ideas about changing government roles, the influence of technology, and internationalization, I found myself also taking a fresh look at the role leadership plays in effective strategic communication.

I urged that professionals in this field should be fine tuning their own leadership talents because they will need to use them to find support for what they can do, as well as to take advantage of the new opportunities that change can bring. But I also came to see even more clearly that the behavior of chief executives can make all the difference in the results:

1. CEO behaviors become a symbol of an institution’s brand identity. CEO words and actions both model and protect it. But they can weaken it as well.

2. Listening to constituents is an important overall CEO characteristic… but a firm and timely response is even more important when addressing urgent issues and crises.

3. The visual presence of the CEO in urgent situations is simply expected.

CEO’s certainly are entitled to their recreational activities, vacations, and to attend unrelated events. This applies to presidents of institutions… and countries. In fact, photo opportunities at the right time can humanize the person and the office.

But timing in a threatening situation is everything. People demand to see that their leader is present and in charge. And how the CEO behaves becomes a symbol of either a strong institution, or of one that is uncertain and vulnerable.

 

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Lesson 226 Warning: Rough Seas Ahead!

Posted in Higher Education, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on July 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Each year the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s Summit for Leaders in Institutional Advancement focuses on the big issues facing education… most especially higher education. This week much of the CASE Summit addressed the coming changes that will likely transform the entire industry.

General sessions featured panels of university presidents, association CEO’s, professors, advancement professionals, as well as a corporation head, a digital media executive, a journalist, and a department of education administrator. Collectively they explored what the future might look like for education.

In a nutshell, they reviewed the consequences of universal government cutbacks, a revolution in digital technology, and rapid globalization… all happening simultaneously. The bottom line: Everything changes, from curricula and teaching methods to how money is raised and where students go to learn.

Education advancement areas include fundraising, alumni relations, marketing, communication, government relations, and sometimes enrollment management and student affairs. Many of the changes that will both threaten institutions and provide exciting opportunities are in these areas. Underlying all of the Summit’s discussions were these questions: What should advancement professionals do to prepare their institutions and constituents for these changes? What opportunities will they have to lead the way? And what should they do to prepare themselves?

As mentioned in a previous post I am writing a book that addresses these issues and questions. It is scheduled for release at next year’s CASE Summit. Between now and then I will be reporting here on my progress.

 

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Lesson 225 It’s Equally About the Content

Posted in Higher Education, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication on July 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Much of my recent work has been around the theme: “How media revolutions change everything!” I have been revisiting Marshall McLuhan’s assertion that “the medium is the message,” the idea that the appearance of a new dominant medium changes how everything functions in significant ways.

The implication here is that this ability of a dominant medium to force dramatic psychic and social changes is a more powerful message than its’ content. My experience suggests that this is initially true. But I also think that eventually the status of that medium’s content can also become a real matter of concern.

In today’s digital world the issue now is how to deal with an overwhelming hourly stream of fragmented information which produces clutter and confusion with little or no context for understanding.

For example, in my industry of higher education, a major transition is underway driven by government cut-backs and complicated by the economic forces of globalization. 24/7 media report “breaking news”headlines of student loan problems, rapidly increasing tuition and fees, sexual misconduct, executive salaries, and much more. But there is little or no context for understanding the complexity of the problems and the efforts being made to solve them.

The truth is… finding ways to provide context in today’s digital world will have to fall to those in strategic communication and institutional marketing. While these professionals use the same digital media tools, they can use a variety of them simultaneously… including more content-friendly publications and magazines, executive speeches, and face-to-face meetings and events. Media campaigns can be developed that identify priority issues, and then use broader briefing points and  multiple media platforms. The reality is that if strategic communicators don’t make this happen, who will?

The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is holding its’ Annual Summit for Leaders in Advancement in New York.  CASE is the largest institution-based education association in the world. The basic purpose of the Summit is to focus on the content issues that all professionals advancing institutions should be addressing with their constituents.

The bottom line is that media revolutions do change people and institutions. As for education, the coming sea-change is a game-changer, and everyone in advancement must take responsibility to make sure their institution is prepared. Now is the time to add context and content.

 

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