Six ways to re-tool higher education leaders

Leadership teams must follow core principles to sustain momentum when scrutiny and fatigue threaten decision-making:

Decision resolve: "We are in the era of hard decisions," Thayer says. "The longer you delay, the fewer options remain," which "become far less appetizing."
Unapologetic focus: Institutions must eliminate lower-value initiatives and double down on what works. Notre Dame de Namur University, for example, recently sold its campus, narrowed its academic scope and now specializes in 10 online graduate programs.
Portfolio logic: Strengthen investment strategy. More small and mid-sized colleges are turning to external investment managers to navigate complex endowment markets.
Change-ready system: Ensure academic and governance structures support innovation. Arizona Western College's new academic division operates outside the traditional semester model, enabling rapid response to local business needs.
Urgent long-termism: Prepare now for emerging challenges rather than deferring them.
Executive resilience: Boards must support leaders through difficult decisions to avoid "chronic resets" caused by leadership turnover, Thayer says. Institutions should also carry priorities forward even as executives retire or step down.

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