Episode 19: Leading Higher Education with Empathy, Collaboration, and Social Advocacy. How Dr. Ward Ulmer leads Walden University with his heart during a time of crisis.
For some of us, obtaining a college degree is just what you do after high school. Taking this next step shapes the entire high school experience. How many times have we heard students and parents discuss how grades, athletics, and extracurricular activities will improve a college application?
For others, a college degree feels like a pipe dream, especially if attending college immediately after high school is not possible. Work and family obligations, financial challenges, and even simple access to information (like how to fill out a FAFSA) can deter a student from enrolling.
In this episode of Illuminate Higher Education, Kiran welcomes guest Ward Ulmer, President of Walden University. Ward has nearly 25 years of experience in higher education, including roles at traditional four-year brick-and-mortar universities, community colleges, and online institutions. In this brief Q&A, Ward shares a few thoughts on education today. Listen to the full podcast for a more in-depth conversation.
Q: What makes Walden University different?
Higher education has changed tremendously over the last couple hundred years. We are moving away from the lecture-based, instructor-centric “sage on stage” model. In the last 40-50 years, the biggest change to education has been a progression to a student-centric model, and online education plays a big role in this evolution. The Covid-19 pandemic showed us just how critical it is for institutions to invest in this modality. We now know that access to multiple learning modalities can be the difference between success and failure.
Bernie and Rita Turner founded Walden in 1970 because they recognized that countless smart, talented individuals could and would complete a degree if only they were in the right circumstances. Many people simply cannot live on campus or attend classes at 8:00 AM on a Tuesday. Our core philosophy is simple—to be another option for working professionals, people with families, even veterans entering civilian life. It is the reason we exist.
Walden University has 153,000 alumni across 165 countries and 55,000 current students. We are a remarkably diverse population—76% female and 52% minority. More than 90% of students are working full-time, part-time, or are self-employed. Walden University is in its 51st year of doing online learning, and we have been completely online for over 25 years.
Q: What are your thoughts on leadership, and how does the Walden experience help instill those values in its students?
In addition to the pandemic, we saw a tremendous amount of social unrest in the past year. Our headquarters is only a few blocks away from where the George Floyd incident happened. In my experience, I have seen higher education leaders in a difficult position—they must toe the institutional line on sensitive issues like racism and socioeconomic inequality.
I am fortunate in that I did not have to do that. I was raised in an environment where it was expected that I would stand up for what I believed in. As a human, any leader must deal with that tension—speaking one’s mind as an individual but also representing the organization and its values. In this case, Walden’s mission is to provide a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners that effect social change. As the leader of this mission, I felt it necessary to be authentic in sharing my thoughts and clarifying our position.
Q: Looking ahead ten years, where do you see higher education going?
In my lifetime, or at least in the foreseeable future, I do not think we will abandon traditional models with professors and students in a classroom. There will always be a market for that. However, we certainly will not be going back to the pre-Covid era. Now that institutions, faculty, staff, and students have gotten a taste of online education, the market will continue to grow.
For traditional four-year institutions, the pool of competitors just got bigger. This is critical for adopting a student-centric view of education. They have options. Access to a certain school is no longer restricted to a specific geography or class schedule. Some would argue, though, that the paradigm has not kept up with this evolution. Many institutions still look down their noses at online programs. The reality is if they do not get on board with online education, they will get left by the wayside.
For a deeper dive into this conversation, listen to the full podcast episode.
Connect with Dr. Ward Ulmer on LinkedIn and watch his message to the Walden University community on YouTube.
Learn more about Walden University by visiting WaldenU.edu and following @WaldenU on Twitter.
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