Newsletter: Innovation and Strategy for the Small American College
A quarterly newsletter from W. Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President for Strategy & Innovation, Vice President of Enrollment & Communication, Augustana College
Issue 6 (July 2025)
- Three design teams become one super design team
- How to measure outcomes over activity
- Important vs. strategic
- From LinkedIn: "Twenty years and a community committed to innovation"
- HBR: "You Should Be Able to Boil Your Strategy Down to a Single Clear Visualization"
- Professional development opportunities for CSOs
Issue 5 (March 2025)
- Faculty workshop on best practices for student recruitment
- Bold & Boundless showcase and celebration
- HBR: "6 Strategies for Leading Through Uncertainty"
- Professional development opportunities for CSOs
Issue 4 (Dec. 2024)
- Reflecting on a year of Bold & Boundless
- Roger Martin (Medium): "Strategy vs. Planning: Complements not Substitutes"
- Professional development opportunities for CSOs
Issue 3 (Sept. 2024)
- We market tested our strategic plan
- How we leverage the difference between strategy and strategic planning
- From LinkedIn: "What does innovation actually look like in higher education?"
- Professional development opportunities for CSOs
Issue 2 (June 2024)
- Strategy development in action
- Strategy and innovation in the marketplace: closures, alliances and mergers
- Howell Malham Jr.: "I Have a Strategy (No You Don't): The Illustrated Guide to Strategy"
- What am I reading?
Issue 1 (March 2025)
- Introduction
- Observations on mergers and acquisitions
- HBR: "A plan is not a strategy"
- Developing alternative futures
- Professional development opportunities
Article: "What does innovation mean in higher education?"
by W. Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President for Strategy & Innovation, Vice President of Enrollment & Communication, Augustana College
Aug. 29, 2024
Recently I was confronted with the question, "what does the innovation part of your title entail anyway?" The question was asked with a little snark, but also with genuine curiosity. I engaged in a brief discussion with my inquisitor, which revealed that innovation is a pretty misunderstood and murky concept, especially in higher education.
I've been thinking about the aforementioned conversation a lot since. And, while I think I provided some good examples of what can be considered innovation in higher education, I probably missed an opportunity for clarity.
So, I'll take this opportunity to offer a couple of thoughts of what innovation means in higher education from where I sit.
Article: "Twenty years and a community committed to innovation"
by W. Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President for Strategy & Innovation, Vice President of Enrollment & Communication, Augustana College
July 1, 2025
Today marks the beginning of my 21st year at Augustana College and it seem like a good time to reflect on my time here.
After 20 years at Augustana, I’ve found that many people have a misconception of what innovation is, especially on a college campus. Too often, people associate innovation with cutting-edge initiatives that are revolutionary or groundbreaking, and this thinking seems to paralyze many into inaction.
The reality is that innovation isn’t always groundbreaking, and it’s seldom revolutionary. What if innovation isn’t about big leaps, but small shifts that solve real problems? I found this AI summary to be helpful.
Committee: Innovation & Competitive Position Committee
The Innovation and Competitive Position Committee oversees and advises the Administration’s strategies to address the competitive environment for Augustana College, including and in particular relating to the significant reduction in the number of high school graduates beginning in or around 2028, and including the consideration of new venture opportunities. The Committee encourages the College’s utilization of emerging innovations that impact higher education, and may recommend to the Board actions to promote innovation within the College.
The Committee also monitors the College’s external reputation and brand and its ability to attract financial support, recruit and retain students and remain relevant into the future.
The Committee meets as necessary to fulfill its mandates, but meets at least two times per year. The Committee regularly reports its actions to the Board of Trustees, along with any recommendations for actions to be taken by the full Board.