Podcast
Radical Cooperation
Hosted by Radical Cooperation · EN
Welcome to Radical Cooperation, the podcast in which higher education leaders explore collaboration as the key to lasting change. Host Dr. Michael Horowitz, together with presidents, chancellors, and trailblazing experts, dives into thought-provoking conversations about solutions to some of the most pressing issues in higher education. From fostering partnerships across institutions to leveraging innovation over tradition, each episode unpacks how cooperation, not competition, drives success. If you're ready to embrace bold, forward-thinking ideas that unite and inspire, you’re in the right place.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why Some Colleges Survive—and Others Don’t
Mar 1800:41:07Tap to summarizeRisk in higher education rarely announces itself. It accumulates gradually through delayed decisions, familiar assumptions, and governance processes that struggle to keep pace with changing conditions. By the time a crisis becomes visible, leaders often discover that their range of options is far narrower than they expected.In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Jim Long about how colleges move from perceived stability to real vulnerability and how boards and senior leaders can recognize those shifts earlier. Drawing on Jim’s work with institutional risk models, enrollment data, and governance practice, the conversation examines why enrollment alone is a misleading signal, how discounting and net revenue quietly reshape risk, and why certain governance patterns delay action.Rather than forecasting which institutions will struggle, this episode focuses on strengthening judgment helping leaders interpret data more honestly and ask better questions before pressure turns into urgency.In this episode:How institutional risk builds gradually over timeWhat enrollment and financial data reveal and concealWhy governance structures matter in moments of uncertaintyHow boards can improve oversight without creating alarmWhat strong institutions do before challenges escalate
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What Forward-Thinking Colleges Are Doing Differently
Mar 400:32:10Tap to summarizeIn The Community Solution, Dr. Michael Horowitz presents a bold vision for higher education, showing how colleges can break down silos, collaborate effectively, and build resilient, student-centered institutions. Drawing on his experience leading a six-college system, Horowitz illustrates how radical cooperation and thoughtful design can transform institutions—and the students they serve. This episode highlights the ideas at the heart of the book, giving listeners a front-row seat to his framework in action.Many colleges feel stuck between two unsatisfying options: preserve traditions that no longer fit, or chase change without clarity about what should remain. As enrollment pressures and financial constraints grow, the deeper challenge is not innovation itself, but whether institutions truly understand what students are hiring them to do.In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz sits down with Michael Horn to examine how higher education’s underlying models shape institutional behavior often more than leaders realize. Drawing on jobs-to-be-done thinking, they explore why incremental fixes rarely deliver resilience, how misalignment between student motivations and institutional design leads to attrition, and why focus and differentiation are essential for helping students choose more intentionally.Rather than framing the future as a breaking point, this episode offers a grounded perspective on how colleges can evolve thoughtfully, preserving their core while building structures that better serve both students and institutions.In this episode:Why institutional models matter more than isolated initiativesHow focus and differentiation help students make clearer choicesThe limits of incremental change in moments of structural pressureWhat leaders can realistically control in uncertain conditions
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Which Marketing Strategies Reach Today’s Students
Feb 1800:40:49Tap to summarizeHigher education is competing for attention in a more crowded, fragmented landscape than ever before. As enrollment pressure rises and traditional advantages fade, institutions face a critical leadership question: how do you grow without losing focus, credibility, or mission?In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Brook Shepard, Founder and CEO of Mason Interactive, about what higher education leaders often misunderstand about marketing, enrollment, and growth. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience working with colleges, universities, and mission-driven organizations, Brook reframes marketing not as a set of tactics, but as an institutional capability that requires alignment, patience, and shared responsibility.In this episode:Why higher education often measures marketing the wrong wayHow short-term efficiency can undermine long-term enrollment growthWhat alignment between marketing, admissions, and leadership really requiresWhy awareness is a prerequisite for demand, not a luxuryHow institutions can build shared accountability instead of siloed blame
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