Reflections on the Evolution of Higher Ed

Something is shifting in education.

It’s in the way leaders are speaking—more open, more honest.
It’s in the questions students are asking—more direct, more discerning.
It’s in the stories schools are telling—or trying to tell—as they search for footing in a landscape that’s changing beneath them.

Have you felt this shift too?

Throughout my adult life, I’ve lived and worked across higher education’s many dimensions—teaching, advising, leading, consulting. Some seasons, I’ve stood at the front of the classroom. Others, I've been in the board room wrestling with how to fuel the future. Often, I’ve sat in strategy rooms, helping presidents, provosts, and marketing teams wrestle with identity, purpose, and sustainability.

Through it all, I’ve stayed a student—because that’s what education invites us to be: lifelong learners in a world that never stops changing. But lately, that world has been especially loud.

Enrollment is down. Debt is up. Public faith in institutions—academic and otherwise—has been bruised by cultural battles and economic strain. Higher education is being asked to prove its value, justify its costs, modernize its model, and restore trust… all at once.

At times, it can feel like the whole system is splintering under pressure.

But here’s what I keep coming back to: What if the cracks we’re seeing aren’t signs of collapse… but invitations to rebuild on something stronger?

When I’m brought into conversations with colleges and universities—whether it’s to shape a brand strategy, clarify messaging, or map out enrollment positioning—I often enter at a crossroads moment: the numbers aren’t where they need to be;
the narrative no longer fits;
the institution feels stuck between what it was and what it might become.

And yet, I’ve learned not to fear that in-between space. Because it’s often where the most meaningful transformation begins. It’s in these moments of friction that the essential questions rise to the surface: Who are we really here for? What do we uniquely offer? How do we design education that forms not just smarter professionals, but more whole people?

Most often, the answer isn’t radical reinvention. It’s return. A return to the core mission. To the founding impulse. To the deeper “why.” It’s in this rediscovery that alignment can begin—across messaging, programming, culture, and community.

The institutions that will thrive in the next chapter of higher education won’t be the ones with the biggest marketing budgets or most elite rankings. And it certainly won't be those who resist change. The institutions we will celebrate in the future will be the ones that embrace the opportunity to refine without losing themselves in the process.

They’ll be: Mission-centered yet market-aware; Student-driven yet community-rooted; Bold enough to reimagine structure, yet grounded enough to keep their soul intact

They’ll rethink credentials, embrace flexible pathways, and expand definitions of success. They’ll invite learners into ecosystems that feel more like journeys than checklists. And most importantly, they’ll lead with clarity, courage, and compassion—the kind that resonates in a noisy world.

In the work I do, helping institutions uncover their common thread to connect more authentically with their audiences, it’s never just about visibility. It’s about believability.

Because branding isn’t about selling something. It’s about being something. Showing up with integrity.
Telling the truth. Knowing who you are—so that your students can discover who they want to be, too. (These are lessons applied to all industries, by the way!)

And the schools that do this well? They won’t just attract attention. They’ll earn trust. They’ll become communities where transformation feels possible.

I believe in higher education—not just as a system, but as a calling.

A place where people become.
Where questions matter.
Where purpose takes shape.

Yes, this moment is hard. But it’s also a doorway—an opportunity to step out of survival mode and into something more meaningful. Because today’s students aren’t just looking for degrees. And today’s employers aren’t just looking for credentials. They’re all looking for courage from institutions that reflect the complexity, the potential, and the hopes of the world we actually live in.

If we can rise to meet that, if we can be brave enough to let go of what no longer serves and bold enough to become who we were always meant to be, then maybe this isn’t the end of something at all. Maybe it’s the beginning.

#HigherEd #EducationTransformation #Leadership #BrandStrategy #FutureOfLearning #StrategyThatHeals