New Collaborative Research Leads to Solutions for Liberal Arts Colleges During Covid-19

A research on the sustainability in the scope of higher education led by Dr. Daryl D. Green, Dr. George Taylor III, and Mrs Violet Ford has opened many windows of opportunities. The study is known as ‘Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset In Today’s Small Liberal Colleges & Universities’ outlines the importance of restructuration in colleges and universities with an entrepreneurial mindset for long-term sustainability.

The coronavirus situation has led to disruptive changes in the academic workflow of students in universities and colleges. With an ongoing volatile market, higher education has been impacted immensely with a direct connotation about underachieving and unprepared pass outs from these educational institutes. This has also propagated stark declining numbers in college enrolments and projections and surveys across the United States point at as much as 450,000 drops in students in years beyond 2025. Previous research, undertaken by Harvard professor, DR. Clayton Christensen also states that in the scope of organizational sustainability in educational institutes, disruptive changes and innovation will lead to 50% of 4,000 colleges and universities in the country to go bankrupt in the next 10 to 15 years.

The outcome of these regressive changes has hit independent liberal art colleges the most. Traditional institutes are also at risk of getting negatively impacted by disruptive change. This brings about uncertainty and unpredictability in various verticals of the market, innovation, industry, and more. “Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset will infuse innovative thinking to difficult problems and provide new revenue streams to universities that utilize student tuition as the principle income for these academic institutions,” Dr. Green notes. Fellow research scholar, Mrs. Ford adds, “At the heart of entrepreneurship is pursuing opportunities with a vision. Traditional organizations will keep creativity within the confines of the classroom; whereas, entrepreneurial driven educational organizations will cultivate and develop creativity throughout an educational system. Thus, the presence of institutional entrepreneurial practice is needed to both create business models and actively participate in implementing changes that can drive transformational change.”

The study leads to a fundamental understanding of the importance of entrepreneurial objectives among students.  Dr. Taylor further suggests, “Early considerations of the entrepreneurial mindset within liberal art colleges show that liberal arts students were encouraged to develop characteristics fundamental to entrepreneurial thinking….Although the entrepreneurial mindset is receiving increased attention that encourages students to think in new, innovative ways while improving their life skills, there is little evidence to support its widespread consideration and implementation at a significant level within traditional liberal arts colleges.”  Ford, Green, and Taylor hope that the current paradigm among academic institutions will change.  The collective effort by the scholars will further inculcate ideas of founding a more sustainable education system that is flexible and progressive.

To view this research, please visit   https://tinyurl.com/y3wydycz

For more information about the researchers, you may contact Dr. Green at  daryl.green@okbu.edu or 405-585-4414

Will Father’s Day Be Different for Black America: Saving Our Sons from Destruction?

saving-our-sons-graphic-cover-2013

When I wrote my book, A Call to Destiny: How to Create Effective Ways to Assist Black Boys in America, my co-author and I were able to analyze what was happening to young black boys in America.  We found some troubling trends. Without any intervention, young black boys, regardless of their social class, will not survive in the 21st century. 

With Father’s Day approaching the nation, the adequacy of fathers will eventually be dissected by media pundits and culture experts.  There are 26.4 million fathers in a traditional family environment. Yet, one of the biggest tragedies and failures of our society is the neglect of millions of black males in America that are failing in life.  One of the key problems is the abandonment of black fathers to take care of their parenting responsibilities. Over 70% of black children live with a single mother. 

The storyline for black boys is frightening. From the low social condition of black boys, it is easy to understand that every major institution has failed them and allowed to them to become the prey of urban culture. Young black males lead every negative statistic you can imagine. They have the worst test scores, the highest drop-out rates, and highest unemployment statistics. While they may fail in school, they become more successful in America’s prison system.

Reggie Jenkins, founder/director of UUNIK Academy of Tennessee, notes, “We are in a state of emergency.” While individuals may find black males missing in honors classes in most high schools, you can be assured that they will make up most of the special education students. For most involved black parents, the problems with their sons happen regardless of socioeconomic standing.

Parents must deal with the calls for medication, special education placement, or holding their child back. Many boys lack any meaningful male involvement.Therefore, an emergency call must go out to fathers! Act now or we will all regret it!  Ryan Bomb was born to a biological mother who was the victim of rape; he was adopted as an infant into a family of 13 children. 

The adoption was a positive force. In order to combat the fatherlessness, he created the Radiance Foundation.  He notes, “We’re calling out men for shirking their responsibilities.  This is not a blame game on women.  This is all of our responsibilities.”

Last month, President Barack Obama spoke at the Commencement Address at Morehouse College and attempted to speak the issues of personal responsibility for young men. President Obama cautioned them about the common issues that some men make: “We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices…Growing up, I made quite a few myself. Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. I had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years, is there’s no longer any room for excuses.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH7L6DJHRXo

America is in trouble as it witnesses millions of fathers missing from today’s homes. The black community is no exception.  Unfortunately, there are unintended consequences when men don’t take ownership or personal responsibility for being a father. 

Despite all of the government and social support available, today’s children still need a strong male role model in their homes.If we allow black boys to become an endangered species, we will be laying the foundation for all American children to eventually suffer the same fate. We must hold on to the hope that things will get better for them.

However, if good people decide to do nothing in the face of this impending danger, it will be a fatal mistake. If so-please forgive us, young brothers, for not saving you. Rest in Peace (RIP) or live.

Please share your opinion about this subject. 

© 2013 by Daryl D. Green

An Educated Society

On Thanksgiving morning, I ran to Kroger to pick up some grocery items.  I went to the cashier and talked to him during my purchased.  I wished him a happy holiday season and stated at least he was making double overtime and leaving early.  The cashier pointed out that he was not making anything extra.  It was just a normal day for the store.  I thought this was sad for him. 

Many employees live paycheck to paycheck.  Some employees in low paying jobs like retail are college and high school students attempting to put some money into their pocket as they move on to something else.  However, there are many people for the next several years these jobs are their endpoint due to the lack of advanced education.    

The economic crisis has wreaked havoc on America’s prosperity and its future. According to a 2010 Pew Research survey, one in four adults between the ages of 18 and 24 moved back in with their parents during the recession.  Furthermore, the cost of a college degree keeps rising like gasoline for my car. 

From 1999-2000 academic year through 2009-2010, the price increase of a four year degree from a public institution was 42% with the average annual cost for four-year undergraduate tuition, room and board being $15,014 (private: $32,790).

For many students, an education is an investment. According to U.S. Census Bureau, there were over 19 million students enrolled in college in 2010 which represented an 11.5% increase from 2007.  In fact, graduate school enrollment jumped over 19% during this time.  Horace Mann, an American education reformer, noted “A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.” Another education reformer John Dewey added, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”  

However, an education is not a silver bullet or the solution for an individual’s well-being.  In an economic crisis, even highly educated or seasoned professionals can be a casualty.  Yet, an education provides unique opportunities. 

Doors can open with the right preparation. With a bachelor’s degree, the median income for individuals in 2010 was $47,422 which was 80% higher than those individuals with only a high school diploma. 

For individuals with a graduate or professional degree, this figure jumped to a median income of $62,618.  Therefore, it becomes more important for students to be strategic in their education. 

There should be a component of selecting the appropriate college degree or technical training, obtaining  practical experience in the specific industry, and developing a robust professional network to seize on career opportunities.

Discuss your personal experiences on this topic.

 © 2011 by Daryl D. Green