Stories to Watch in 2016

Stories To Watch

Stories To Scout

The theme of 2022 will be managing legacy institutions. Volition we have the courage to modify?

Jan. 04, 2016

Happy New year! Hither are half-dozen stories I volition follow in 2016, with a few predictions sprinkled in. The stories have 1 affair in common: they involve managing legacy – costs, practices, politics, and brand – in a rapidly irresolute world.

Managing legacy gets to the center of why leadership is so important: strong leaders help u.s.a. to rethink the purpose and position of institutions before they pass up. They are not afraid to seek change – while others never go the memo.

1. Mergers in College Education

The Thomas Jefferson and Philadelphia universities merger was a surprise that few predicted. Information technology was a break the mold announcement because in that location was no obvious synergy. Simply look closer and y'all tin can run into how a medical and wellness sciences school (Jefferson) and a school with a design and business organisation focus (Philadelphia) would fit together. It is a merger about the changing nature and increasing integration of their respective fields. It is a merger about the future more than than a way to rescue the past.

Look for more college didactics mergers and affiliations. Some of them will exist out of the box, like Jeff and Philly, and others more defensive, as a way to save a schoolhouse in crunch.

Parts of college education are in trouble due to rise costs, too much pupil debt, new technology, demography, and global competition. Private schools without significant endowments and prestige have to scramble to bring in students, maintain quality, and adapt to changing skill demands.

Many schools are responding by condign global institutions: setting up alliances with international universities or building their own campuses overseas. All of our major local universities have ambitious global partnerships that will continue to aggrandize.

The merger between Jefferson and Philadelphia University is about the future more a way to rescue the past.

American cultural institutions—universities, museums, and orchestras—are also marketing their brands overseas, much equally American retail expansions have done.  New York Urban center'south Guggenheim, for case, now has museums in Spain, Venice, and Abu Dhabi.

Full-scale mergers are less common than inter-school affiliations that create feeder systems and leverage respective strengths. Partnerships and mergers between universities and museums (Drexel and the Academy of Natural Sciences, for case) are more frequent than ever.

Higher teaching mergers now cantankerous boundaries betwixt public and private, profit and nonprofit, academic and not-academic, and even secular and religious affiliated (east.g. Towson Country and Baltimore Hebrew University).

Hither at home, a potential acquisition candidate is University of the Arts. Created as a merger betwixt the Philadelphia College of Arts and the Philadelphia Higher of the Performing Arts in 1985, it is a solid school sitting on prime real estate with a express endowment. It is also quite costly and its students carry heavy debt loads, typical of many art schools. A larger academy that wants a foothold in downtown Philadelphia and wants to link fine arts with other University strengths (liberal arts, design, technology) would come across smashing value here.

It may not happen this year, but information technology is a story to sentry.

2. Tin can Cheyney Be Turned Effectually?

Our region is habitation to two historically black colleges: Lincoln and Cheyney. While both have struggled over the past three decades, Cheyney is in complimentary autumn. A recent report showed that officials at the school had failed to proceed adequate records for about $30 one thousand thousand in educatee aid, for which taxpayers could be on the claw. But even bated from administrative and fiscal problems, every academic indicator from enrollment to retention is in bad shape. Before long Cheyney loses almost 1 in 2 students subsequently their freshman year. The school is financially and academically bankrupt.

Cheyney has a proud history of notable graduates. Like other historically blackness colleges and universities, information technology played a vital role in promoting African American social mobility when racism blocked attendance at other institutions.

But rescuing Cheyney is no longer an event of increasing state aid (although that would exist dandy). This is a piece of work out and the land, Cheyney, and other education leaders must develop new options. That might take the class of an amalgamation with nearby West Chester University or turning the school into a center for African American studies as office of a major individual University.

Something has to be done to rescue the school and improve serve the African American community and it will accept a more dramatic transformation than trying to hold the current model together.

3. How About That Girard College-Hershey Schoolhouse Affiliation?

During the mayoral contest there was a lot of talk about the Philadelphia School Commune. But 2 schools fully owned and controlled by the Urban center were given less attention: Philadelphia Community College and Girard College. In this column I wrote about the metropolis'due south community college and its efforts to improve. Hopefully 2022 will exist a twelvemonth of progress for that important establishment.

How about Girard Higher?

Girard College is an iconic institution. It was an early on example of philanthropy by one of the richest men in early on nineteen th century America and it features extraordinary compages: Founder's Hall is one of the best examples of Greek revivalist compages in the nation. It sits on a forty-four acre site in N Philadelphia and was the bailiwick of the city's almost famous civil rights boxing, fought to allow non-white poor children to be served by a Will that restricted services to poor whites.

The school has been on a financial tightrope for years, every bit a result of poor investment decisions and the governance of the City Lath of Trusts, which lacks the capacity to more effectively run the institution.

As a result, the school'southward enrollment has dwindled to around 270—less than half its size just a decade ago. Yes, Girard is better managed today in terms of transparency, communications, and bookish programs than five years agone. Only its endowment has not fully recovered from either the recession or bad investment decisions. The schoolhouse attempted to temporarily curtail its boarding school and high schoolhouse mission to save coin, while information technology rebuilt its balance canvas. A gauge denied the request.

Six months agone a few Girard alums floated the idea of a merger between Girard College and the Hershey School in an Op-ed in the Inquirer. The co-authors were retired concern executives. They noted that Hershey and Girard have similar missions but widely different circumstances: Hershey has resources merely needs to attract children and Girard tin concenter children but needs money.

The Hershey Trust, which also is linked to the chocolate company, hotel and entertainment park, along with other holdings, has had its own share of governance issues and intrigue. But it has shown a willingness to help Girard Higher by admitting its students.

A total-scale merger would be difficult to pull-off simply there is a strategic brotherhood that could work for both institutions. This would be a skilful time to motion that forward.

4. Legacy Costs: A City Alimony Fund Committee (delight!)

One yr ago the PICA board issued its report on city pension fund liabilities, detailing the problem of underfunding and its bear on on the city'southward operating upkeep, along with options for future activeness. Look for the Kenney administration to convene a city pension fund commission to issue its own study and strategy. The value of that commission will exist to get everyone around the table to build buy-in. The downside is that the committee becomes a substitute for action.

Economic growth rates will make information technology impossible to reach projected pension fund returns, while changes in accounting rules make it harder to obscure its fiscal position. Add together to that, the connected pressure of rising rates of new retirees, and information technology's clear the metropolis has a problem information technology tin can no longer kick downwardly the proverbial route. Information technology should not be solved on the back of those who made their contributions and lived up to their contracts in good faith. Simply neither can it be solved by pretending there is no problem, while slowly devouring the city's operating upkeep.

This will be Kenney's most important structural result to face up. Nutter tried but was non able to build union or council back up. Let's hope Kenney is up to the challenge. Information technology cannot wait another eight years.

Await for Kenney to convene a city pension fund commission. The value will be to become everyone around the tabular array to build buy-in for activity. The downside is that the commission becomes a substitute for action.

5. Legacy Politics: The House of Fattah

For the start time in years Congressman Fattah has legitimate opponents for his congressional seat, including powerful State Rep. Dwight Evans. And why not? He is under indictment on RICO charges, simply endured his son'due south confidence on bank and IRS fraud , and is non raising much money for his legal defense.

Fattah leads a political auto that counts Land Representatives, State Senators, and several City Council members amidst its ranks. The pending trial has not stopped loyal supporters similar the Hospital Workers Wedlock or the head of the city's Democrats, Congressman Bob Brady, from endorsing him. I think this is the end of the line for the quondam reform Congressman from Westward Philly. Possibly he wins the primary and the election: only ultimately the trial will be the decisive factor.

6. Legacy System: Philadelphia School Finances on the Rocks

With the land budget nevertheless hostage to politics, schools do not know the size of the increase to look. Any the number, the new resource volition not be enough to eradicate the projected SRC deficits.

There were three drivers of school deficits during the by decade: the growth of charter schools in the absence of offsetting country reimbursements or SRC administration changes; rising personnel costs driven past pension fund contributions; and the loss of state help from its high h2o Federal stimulus level. The structural deficits caused by these iii problems were detailed by the much-maligned (but largely unread) Boston Consulting Group written report in 2012.

The District has tried to come up to terms with these deficits by request the city and state for more coin, closing downwards underutilized schools to cut stock-still costs, renegotiating labor contracts, cut administrative expenses, endmost down several poorly performing charters, favoring Renaissance turnarounds over de novo charter schools, and making Draconian cuts to personnel: teachers, nurses, and aides.

No matter what the land does, information technology will non be enough to fund the present system. Hence the crisis of 2022 is still the crisis of 2016. We need new ideas besides throw out the bums, get more than coin from the state or get rid of charters.

If you get rid of the SRC and bring back a local lath, it volition feel good to school activists and union members just will non solve the coin outcome.

Close downwards all the charters? It won't happen; the parents that represent 1 out of three school children won't have it and for proficient reason: It works for their kids. Fifty-fifty some of the near vocal anti-charter activists in boondocks send their kids to lease schools if they can't get them into the elite special acknowledge schools. It's the Philly version of do as I say, non as I do.

No thing what the state does, it volition not be enough to fund the nowadays [school] arrangement. Hence the crisis of 2022 is still the crunch of 2016. We need new ideas besides throw out the bums, get more money from the state or get rid of charters.

More money from the State? Maybe, somewhen. It is doubtful that it will happen anytime soon or that in the absence of fixing school pensions, the per educatee impact will be as great as we would similar.

We take a much bigger legacy arrangement trouble but lack the political and institutional space through which solutions can be designed and implemented. The District needs to be reimagined as a lean back up and regulatory board that oversees school based managers: charter, district, or contract. Its mantra should be to push resources and authority, as much as possible, to the schools themselves.

This is a design and management trouble, not simply a coin trouble. That's the legacy lesson.

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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/stories-to-watch-in-2016-chaka-fattah-cheyney-university-girard-college/

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