Learning Resources

Abstract: The Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes
by Nathan D. Grawe
Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore: 2021
298 pages
ISBN: 978-1421440231

Does hope motivate action or complacency? Does crisis induce change or despair? Nathan D. Grawe readily acknowledges this tension in The Agile College, his follow-up book to his 2018 Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. The latter propelled the inescapable discussion throughout higher education of the looming “demographic cliff.” The Agile College suggests how agile institutions might prevent demography from becoming destiny.

Abstract: The death of George Floyd in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have renewed the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), particularly in higher education planning. As a result of this attention, higher education has reexamined its commitment to DEI. A student voice survey found that college students were underwhelmed by actions taken by their institutions to address DEI on campus (Inside Higher Education 2021). Institutional units across higher education require coordinated, integrated planning to meet student expectations. This article highlights the results of a study that examined professional development strategies for higher education professionals in the context of the post-George Floyd–era.

Abstract: Edited by Eugene L. Zdziarski, Norbert W. Dunkel, and J. Michael Rollo
Routledge: Oxfordshire, England: 2021
388 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-0367333720

Abstract: The disruptive nature of a post-COVID world provides the perfect opportunity for institutions to use scenario planning as a tool to navigate through an uncertain future. Scenario planning is especially useful for communicating external and internal trends and bridging a discussion between the most recent visioning exercise and transition. In this presentation, we'll demonstrate a step by step how-to for you to apply on your own campus with a vivid description of deliverables, tools, and 'gotchas.'

Abstract: In turbulent times, visionary leaders and their committed crews recognize the winds of change, reset their sails and change course so they emerge in a better position than before. The global pandemic of 2020-21 has been a once-in-a-century disruption for education at all levels, which has magnified pre-existing inequities and vulnerabilities, and compressed a decade’s worth of social and technological change into a year. Even once this threat has past, many of our campuses will see recurrent disruptions from extreme weather events, other zoonotic viruses, geopolitical conflict, wildfires or flooding. We know now that business and academic continuity will demand flexible, lower density approaches and an integrated, omnichannel approach to student services, scholarship and learning. It can be challenging to step back from moments of crisis and see them in perspective, as moments also brimming with opportunity to regroup, rethink our strategies and refocus our resources to lead positive