4 November, 2015 0 Comments

Bold Visions Inspire Giving

November 4, 2015 By Leave a Comment
A rendering of the health center at FAU

A rendering of the health center at FAU

It’s been a good two weeks for Boca Raton’s two universities, thanks to the generosity and vision of Christine Lynn.

Lynn University announced at its annual State of the University address recently that it will build the Christine E. Lynn University Center, a project that begins the final phase of the school’s Campus Master Plan.

 The new building is made possible by a $15 million gift, the largest in university history, from Board of Trustees Chair Christine E. Lynn. Mrs. Lynn’s commitment is a challenge grant that establishes the foundation for others to participate in this momentous project.

This week, Ms. Lynn gave Florida Atlantic University $5 million gift to help construct a building on its Boca Raton campus.

 The Christine E. Lynn Sports Medicine Center will be a treatment center for FAU student athletes within the Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence. It’ll include rehabilitation facilities, hydrotherapy treatments and medical exam rooms.

Both Lynn and FAU are growing in stature, importance and reputation thanks in large part to the dynamic leadership provided by its presidents—John Kelly at FAU and Kevin Ross at Lynn. That kind of dynamic leadership spurs excitement and giving. Leadership matters. You can’t succeed without it.

 “The Christine E. Lynn University Center will stand at the heart of our campus and enhance the experience of students, employees and every person who visits,” says President Ross. “We are grateful for Mrs. Lynn’s unparalleled generosity and the role she continues to play in our university’s future.”

The university center’s design is the culmination of years of preparation, beginning with the development of the Lynn 2020 strategic plan in 2005, and the Campus Master Plan, developed with design firm Gensler and approved by the board of trustees in 2009.

 “Our approach is based on Lynn’s core values as a vibrant, energetic campus,” says Gensler Senior Associate Cliff Bollmann. “The goal is to drive energy on campus and create a space where students want to be.”

 The building will encompass student essentials including Lynn’s award-winning 24-hour dining, Hannifan Center for Career Connections, the Center for Learning Abroad, campus store, mailroom, coffee shop, student affairs offices, collaboration spaces and more. Its design includes a large “living room” for informal gatherings and presentations, with expansive glass windows that connect students outdoors with activity occurring inside.

The university center, collectively with future residential spaces including the recently announced Mary and Harold Perper Residence Hall, will bring together academics, housing and the overall student experience to drive engagement and create a gathering place for future generations. The project’s crowning element will be a green space envisioned as a park dedicated to Mrs. Lynn.

The university center is expected to be completed in 2018 and is only one part of Lynn’s bold vision which includes an award winning curriculum and relationships with key partners including that little company in Cupertino– Apple.

At FAU, keep a close watch on the Tech Runway which will nurture start-up companies via funding, mentoring and activities.

The Runway itself is a start-up and I’ve been proud to serve on its advisory board.

Next week, I along with local businessman Connor Lynch and Stacey Halberg of Northern Trust will host a special dinner in Delray to introduce the concept to key leaders. President Kelly and others will be there to share the vision.

Exciting times…indeed. Our local universities are leading the way.

 

 

 

6 May, 2015 0 Comments

Lynn Takes Bold Step

May 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Lynn University makes a bold bet.

Lynn University makes a bold bet.

Lynn University has announced its innovative iPad-powered online bachelor’s degree program will be called iLynn.

Beginning in fall 2015, the new program will offer a private university experience for a state university price. iLynn is one of two initiatives Lynn highlighted during eMerge Americas during the conference May 1 through May 5 in Miami.

 

“Technology has enabled us to reimagine college,” said Lynn President Kevin M. Ross. “We’ve been using iPads on our campus to improve student engagement and reduce the cost of traditional textbooks by up to 95 percent. Now, we’re excited to announce that we are using that same mobile technology in our iLynn program to reduce the cost of tuition by 20 percent.”

 

The iLynn program empowers adult students with work, family and other obligations to pursue their undergraduate degrees online, on campus or both. The program also offers accelerated terms, easy transfer of college and certified work experience credits and professional coaching for every student. Starting at $35,400 ($8,850 per year), iLynn is as affordable as the average state university tuition, but with a more personalized education, small class sizes and unlimited access to next-generation collaboration tools.

 

The school is also launching Lynn University Digital Press, a digital publisher of scholarly works designed for iPad- and iTunes U-enabled academic curricula.

 

“Lynn’s digital press is the first of its kind in South Florida,” said Chris Boniforti, Lynn’s CIO. “The model of having faculty write and create the texts they use in class is an innovation that not only reduces textbook costs for students, but also increases faculty and student engagement with the content.”

 

To date, the university has created 24 multi-touch books that have helped reduce the cost of traditional textbooks. Another dozen works are underway, including a contribution by Presidential Fellow James Guthrie, who will address the field of educational leadership.

 

The university anticipates the digital press will also significantly enhance its sustainability efforts by replacing traditional printing, shipping and inventory practices with immediate access to digital content.

 

During the second annual eMerge Americas conference, President Ross delivered opening remarks at the 1111 Party and Boniforti participated in the EdTech Disruption of Education panel. The Lynn Admission team demonstrated the university’s award-winning iPad-powered curriculum during the conference exhibit on May 4 and 5.

4 May, 2015 0 Comments

Magic

May 4, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Not the best example, but we got your attention didn't we?

Not the best example, but we got your attention didn’t we?

College graduation is a profound moment for a parent.
In our family, we dreamed and planned for this moment before our kids were born. That’s how much we value education.
But the value of a college education has been challenged of late.

Prognosticators are predicting the “disruption” of traditional higher education and I suppose some of that is already happening with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

But while online education has it’s advantages it will be hard to replace the value of actually going to college and learning to live on your own. The internet is amazing but it cannot replace the real world.

Nor can it adequately replace the relationships you build by living, studying and experiencing college alongside other people.
Whether it’s developing a relationship with a professor, pledging a fraternity, attending a game, learning to live with a roommate or hanging with friends at the student union there is just nothing like the real thing.
I was reminded of that this weekend when I attended the graduations of my son and daughter from UF and USF respectively.
I know I am not alone in witnessing their transformations from uncertain high school graduates to impressive young adults.
Yes they learned a lot in the classroom; skills that will enable them to get started in life. But they learned just as much if not more from the experience itself.
Learning to be an independent adult can’t happen in the cloud or on any device regardless of how smart.
That’s what the essence of the college experience  is all about and the smart schools will invest in the relationships they can develop with their students.
What does that mean?
Asking faculty to engage with and in some cases even collaborate with students. FAU’s new VP of Research Dan Flynn is encouraging collaboration by creating opportunities for professors to help students launch businesses and pursue joint research projects.
Invest in experiential learning. Give students real world access and experiences. Lynn University is famous for this, providing students opportunities with hands on opportunities including a recent behind the scenes trip to the NCAA Final Four for sports administration majors.
Promote meaningful opportunities to work in the community. And the world is the community. Again, our local schools are involved in community projects at home and abroad.
Invest in place. Makes universities attractive, walkable, dense. Promote collisions. There are opportunities galore in this regard.
Collisions can happen online and they can be cool. But real world collisions are magical.
Yes, magical.
Magical always wins.
Create magic and you will never be disrupted. Ignore change and you won’t be disrupted you’ll be destroyed.

The smart schools will iterate and evolve and create real and virtual experiences leveraging technology but always including a real world experience.

You simply can’t beat the real thing.