Representing distinct parts of Rutgers University—academic innovation and experiential learning, organizational leadership and strategy, and the university library—the authors approach this discussion of agility and cross-university partnerships from three distinct vantage points. Despite different administrative portfolios and scholarly and professional interests, the authors collectively view this moment as one of profound opportunity for our institution and for higher education more broadly. Purposeful collaborations have contributed to new and innovative partnerships that will be discussed in this chapter, including a new learning community for interested members of the New Brunswick Libraries—The Hatchery, a dedicated design thinking and ideation studio centrally located in the Archibald S. Alexander Library—and varying points of convergence with the Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) that integrates design and entrepreneurial thinking and leadership development into the Rutgers student experience.
TopIntroduction
Discussions of the redesign and reinvention of higher education are abundant. Inspired by a wide array of recent challenges, leaders across higher education seem preoccupied with two sets of issues: (1) In the short term, how do we address the immediate issues posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the public health crisis on our core programs and services? (2) In the long term, how do we rethink the work of our institutions in order to ensure the viability and relevance of our institutions, fulfill our core mission in an ecosystem that might look quite different, and promote the common good? Both sets of issues, the short-term and long-term exigencies posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other related challenges, require interdisciplinary collaborations, creative approaches to problem-solving, and a collective willingness to embrace change.
The dual focus on triaging immediate challenges and reimagining the future of higher education demands an agile orientation—one that allows for innovative and informed shifts in thinking and behavior. The traditions of the academy, including a shared governance model, desire for consensus and deliberation, and reliance on committees and task forces, can certainly stand in the way of agile, rapid decision making. However, within the context of our work at Rutgers University, we have found value in pursuing incremental innovation by leaning on existing relationships across our institution; forging new partnerships with others who share an interest in working through the messy yet fruitful work of innovation; and collectively concentrating on the root issues that might stand in the way.
Representing distinct parts of our institution—academic innovation and experiential learning, organizational leadership and strategy, and the university library—we approach this subject from three specific vantage points. Despite our different administrative portfolios and scholarly and professional interests, we collectively view this moment as one of profound opportunity for our institution and for higher education more broadly. Purposeful collaborations across each of our areas have contributed to new and innovative partnerships that will be discussed in this chapter, including a new learning community for interested members of the New Brunswick Libraries; the Hatchery, a dedicated design thinking and ideation studio centrally located in the Archibald S. Alexander Library; and varying points of convergence with the Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) that integrates design and entrepreneurial thinking and leadership development into the Rutgers student experience.
We recognize the uncertainty of the present moment, and we acknowledge firsthand the challenges involved with pursuing new, innovative, and interdisciplinary programs, initiatives, and practices during a period of budgetary challenges, workforce reductions, and a seemingly endless stream of institutional and environmental unknowns. However, as described in this chapter, COVID-19 and the related challenges of the moment serve as both a constraint and a catalyst for change, and some of the principles associated with design thinking and agile mind-set may prove instructive in helping us navigate this uncertain terrain.
It is not uncommon to view change, redesign, and new ways of approaching our work in the academy as existential threats. Through this lens, reinventing higher education may be seen as a disruption to the status quo, requiring a widespread and immediate overhaul of our traditions, customs, preferred practices, and standard operating procedures (Ruben et al., 2021). From this perspective, some of the fundamental reasons for working in higher education and the ways in which our work is typically done are called into question and potentially at risk.
As we reflect on our individual units and the national commentary regarding the future of higher education, however, we tend to view these efforts for redesign and reinvention as strategic opportunities for transformation. Rather than threatening what we do and why we do it, we can respond to this moment with deep reflection and critical introspection and approach it as a reminder of what led us to pursue this work in the first place. Rather than revamping all that we do across the academy or dismantling existing structures and practices in pursuit of new opportunities, we can treat this time as one of opportunity for challenging basic assumptions and shaping the perceptions of our work in higher education. And rather than leaning exclusively on past precedent as a script for how to move forward, we can consider ways of leaning upon institutional histories and traditions as a foundation upon which to build, leaning forward in a way that approaches creativity and innovation from a posture of hope and promise.