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The Tudor Dixon Podcast: Faith, Family, and the Future of Higher Education with Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riano
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- [00:00]
Tudor Dixon
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
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Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
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Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
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Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
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- [03:06]
Tudor Dixon
Welcome to the Tutor Dixon Podcast. I'm excited today because we are going to talk about faith at university is something that I think is on everybody's mind right now. We certainly saw that with the memorial to Charlie Kirk and everything that we saw with his wife. But all of our administration officials that are out there talking about faith, even the vice president who said, I've talked more about Jesus Christ in the last five days than I have my entire time in office. I thought that was so cool to see him say that. So we have a friend at a university, the president of Cornerstone University, Dr. Jerson Marino Reano. Thank you so much for being here today.
- [03:47]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Thank you, Tutor. It's great to see you again. Great to be on your podcast. Thank you.
- [03:51]
Tudor Dixon
Oh, I'm so happy about what you guys are doing here in Michigan because I've been to your campus many times and we know that you are faith led. That actually was a challenge for you at first to even come into the university and say, we're going to really push our faith. We're going to make sure that these kids are focused on Christ. That's. That's so important for our kids today. And, and I think I was just having a conversation earlier today with someone who said once my kids got out of college, there wasn't that opportunity for them to find a spouse that was also Christ led. And that was a conversation that we heard from Charlie. You need to be aware that you want to have a life with someone else. And that's something that I, I mean, we know that we have two people that work with us that just recently graduated from Cornerstone and they're getting married. So you guys are. You have the whole package.
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Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
We're contributing to every good thing possible.
- [04:46]
Tudor Dixon
Yeah, exactly. I mean, honestly, I think that's great. But how. I want to talk about how faith based colleges are saving this next generation.
- [04:57]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah. Thank you, Tutor. You know, it's a. I think universities have such a pivotal role in this space. And unfortunately, it's been a role that, that has been sort of left behind by American universities for decades and decades and decades. Right. I mean, in many ways, at the outset of our country, we talk about American higher education before the states were even here, when the colonists were here. And it was really Christian higher education. Right. We need to be true and factual about that. It was Christian universities that started in this country. Quite frankly, they have drifted, that drifted significantly, as we all know. And now I think there are a handful of universities who truly are committed to Christ, to the Christian faith, to provide an excellent education. I do think that they are one of the most important, some of the most important institutions we need to be supporting and advancing to bring about this transformation we're all talking about. And I say that because back in 2003, UCLA researchers did a profound study. It was called the Spiritual Life of College students. They surveyed over 100,000 undergraduate students in America and they discovered at 200 colleges, the overwhelming majority of the students had high levels of spiritual interest and involvement. They all believed, or so many believe, in the sacredness of human life. Over 50% of them said that spiritual life and spiritual growth was essential to them or very important to them, and they were searching for the meaning and purpose in life. That's 2003. It hasn't changed. I think the numbers are probably larger today. There's a real hunger and thirst on the part of young people in high school and as they're entering college as to what do we do with our life, how do we live a meaningful life? And I think universities can have a pivotal effect, a transformative effect, if they are right aligned with truly caring about the souls of these students. If they're not, they actually perpetrate more damage. And I think that's the challenge we have before us in higher ed.
- [07:02]
Tudor Dixon
We've had a radical infiltration of indoctrination and these radical leftist professors that have come into universities across the country. Harvard Graduate School just released a study showing that nearly three in five young adults feel a lack of purpose in their lives. But many of them have come out of these universities that have told them, you don't need to get married, there's no reason to have kids, there's no reason to have a strong relationship. It's very me focused. And there is actually no purpose in focusing on self. If you can't put others above self, then what is your purpose? You're only focused on you.
- [07:47]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah, you know, I've seen this. One of the more jarring things I've seen. There have been a number of articles published in the last few months and couple of years in the New York Times or the Atlantic talking about the new movement for family estrangement. How young adults, children are cutting off their entire families, parents, siblings. It is a deliberate choice. They are Making. And so you have clinical psychologists and sociologists studying this problem, asking, what's happening? Why is this happening? And here's what they're saying. There's a significant shift in American society in a family where for centuries, the family was about obligations and duty toward others and thinking of the best for others. And in the last decades, it has shifted from that to identity and understanding the family. The parents have to identify with me, affirm and embrace my identity, whatever that is, or my view of the world. And if they don't, I cut them off. They're causing me emotional and mental trauma, so I let them go. A massive shift in family understanding. And I believe that it's not many universities have perpetrated help to perpetrate that, but the culture has as well. The popular culture has as well. There are so many forces against this fundamental, important unit of society, of the fabric of our country, called the family. And all of a sudden, it is beginning to be seen as actually a bad thing, which is a real perversion of society, of our culture. So I think there's an opportunity, though, because young men and women know they're crying out for belonging. They're crying out for meaning. They're crying out for. I mean, I spoke to a young man in the last few months who was graduating from high school, entering college, and I asked him, what is it that you and your friends talk about? What do you guys talk about when you guys get together? And he said, look, I can't tell you all the details, but I'll tell you in general what we're concerned about. We want to find someone that can love us, and we have families, and we want to find a meaningful work. That's what we talk a lot about. Can we find someone that will love us and marry that person and then find meaningful work? I was absolutely floored. They weren't talking about video games. They weren't talking about college football. NFL. Right. They were talking about some of those fundamental questions of life, love, meaning and purpose. Where do they go? I will tell you something, tutor. They're not going to their families to talk about this. They're not going to their parents. They're going to each other. And on the one hand, while that's good, there's no real wisdom going into those conversations oftentimes. And so that's why I think that universities like Cornerstone play such a pivotal role when the young men and women come to our campuses, that we can have really honest, not just conversations, not just discussions, but provide moral direction, you know, soul transformation. Soul shaping. That's really what education is about. It's about moral formation and do that and help them not just talk about it, but provide guidance through the scriptures. We're a Christian university through the gospel, but also through millennia of human history. That always points to the fact that the institution of the family is the most important institution for success, for flourishing, for moral protection, for guidance.
- [11:16]
Tudor Dixon
Okay, but take us on a history tour, because wouldn't you say that one of the hallmarks of communism and socialism is separate the younger generation from their family? And this has been, like you said, it's come in from all different areas of culture. We don't actually even see exactly where it's coming from. So how have you seen that in history, in the past? How have we seen this and what are the effects?
- [11:38]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Well, you know, I think that the first person that began this, unfortunately, was a Greek philosopher named Plato in his book Republic, which is, I mean, one of the most influential books in philosophy probably ever written. And in that work, he argues that the family is a conventional arrangement, that actually the state or the political society can raise children better than parents. Sounds familiar, right? This was 300 B.C. okay, three centuries or so before Christ. This is. This argument was already being discussed and talked about. And he developed an entire systematic approach to doing that. That idea has been carrying a lot of water for centuries. A lot of people have been taking that and thoughtfully, seriously. Communism certainly is the latest one, because any social institution that we would say is divinely ordained, like the family or the church, right. Communism says no. It's all conventional. It's all a power argument. It's all about control. So communism promises people real freedom through destroying all these institutions, which is a falseh. We've seen what that happens. So, yes, communism, socialism seeks to destroy this institution of the family because they understand the power, not just the power in terms of control, but the incredible amount of moral influence parents can have in shaping the lives of children and shaping their moral outlook, in shaping their moral direction. And that's a dangerous thing for communism, socialism, because only the state should do that. Only the state knows best. So you have to try to destroy that and destroy any other institution that would suggest that the state shouldn't do that. So that's been going on for a long, long time. And it's softer forums in American culture. The argument is that freedom, individual freedom, is more important and trumps any social institution and social norm and more so that it's really any institution that would dare stay, come into your life and say no you shouldn't do it that way. You should do this. There's something wrong because it's keeping you from being your true, authentic self. And your true, authentic self is determined by your true, authentic self. It's circular logic, I understand, but it's a very powerful argument because you have young men and women who hear that, human beings who hear that and think, I'm the captain of my soul and the master of my direction, right? And no one can tell me otherwise. That's very powerful. That's very liberating. And what that movement has done, on the one hand, we love freedom and liberty, but you can't have that without moral context, moral responsibility, without the moral virtues. And that argument then, is freedom, no responsibility, liberty, no moral ground. That's the problem.
- [14:31]
Tudor Dixon
It's liberating, but it's also very lonely. And that's not how the human body was built. That's not what God intended. Intended for us. This is very much against what God intended for us. And you talked about identity and all that. And. And I think there is an impact on mental health. When we have. When we break this down, we have. People are saying we have a mental health crisis. I really think that this is a manufactured crisis. In many cases where they've been. There has been mind control and brainwashing of these groups that they know what they're doing, they know how to do this. I'll say. The other day I saw a video and I thought it was incredibly impactful. There young woman who said, I transitioned and I became. I thought I was becoming a man. And she said, think about what my position was in my family. I was my mother's daughter. And I told her, I'm not your daughter anymore. I had responsibilities of a daughter. God gave me responsibilities of a daughter that I said, you have to accept that's not what I'm going to do anymore. Same thing with my father. She said, probably the worst of all is I was an older sister to my younger sister. And I told her, you don't have a sister anymore, and I don't have that responsibility. You have a brother, and you are supposed to support me in that. I'm not supposed to give you anything anymore. She said, I made them go through my surgeries. I made them watch my body change. And that wasn't who I was. It was just totally selfish. She said, this is a narcissist. She called herself narcissistic. She said, this is a narcissistic mental disorder that is created by this culture right now. And she had broken free. I want to talk about that, because Charlie had been so. He had been so outspoken about, you can't do this, and if you're doing this, it's selfish. And I think a lot of. A lot of the pushback on him was that he said, and as we know, the shooter had these trans messages on his weapon, on his bullets. So we know that it was very hard for these youth to understand that it's not all about you. In fact, my pastor over the weekend was just talking about what is love and God's love. And God's love is not love of self. True love that you learn from the Lord is to put others above yourself. And that's kind of. That's the breakdown in culture today. So how do you bring that message to a college campus? Love is to put others before yourself.
- [16:56]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah. So two things. One, the mental health piece. I've always said that when we as human beings go against the divine order that God has designed and created, we're going to cause great damage to ourselves. It's just plain simple. We can call it mental health, we can call it spiritual. I think it's deeply spiritual, with mental and physical reality ramifications. When we violate the order of God, we bring great violence to our own being, into our own mind. So while on the one hand, I do think you're right, there's a significant amount of what I call social engineering going on up there in the messaging. And it's clear there's a lot of data showing that's being done. There's also very real spiritual mental damage we're doing to ourselves when we violate God's order, when we push against it, when we rebel against it. And that's, I think, what part of what's happening here. I think there is definitely social engineering happening. You just saw the other day, the announcement at Google certainly was biased against conservatives during the President Biden's administration. Now it's out there. What people were saying was actually happening, actually was happening. But I've also seen firsthand how individuals who are going through this LGBTQ identity trans crisis are also wrestling with deep, profound spiritual questions in their own life. And as they drink, as they pursue these options that are against God's order and design for them, they are hurting themselves deeply, deeply. So we have to, on college campuses, take that very seriously. We have to address and bring spiritual healing and spiritual direction to individuals who may be struggling, dealing with or having or the after effects of those things, because we believe in the redemptive, transformative healing power of the gospel that's absolutely clear in it. And then no one's too far gone that God can't heal through the gospel if they give their lives to him. So that. And we've seen that. So it's a very powerful thing to do and beautiful thing to do. And I think college campus have a great opportunity to do that now more than ever because I think the conversation is out there being had. And in terms of the love piece, you're absolutely right. You know, we, we have something here at Corinthian. We call it the beautiful Christian community. And the beautiful Christian community is founded on what we believe is a true understanding of what love is. Love is not embracing everything and saying it's great when we support you. That's not love. That's a lack of discernment. And sometimes it brings great damage. Love is also being truthful. Love has to be grounded on goodness, on truth, on beauty. And love then pursues those things and helps individuals pursue those things. And I've oftentimes I said this to our students. If you see someone running as fast as possible toward a cliff, are you going to say, I support your running. You're a great runner. Or are you going to jump in and keep them from running into the cliff? Off the cliff? Real love says you jump in, right? You do all you can to keep this person from going off the cliff. That's love. Because you know that's damaging, destructive. You just don't embrace them and say, you're being your authentic self. That's not what you do. So real love means you sacrifice for what is good and what is true. It's not just embracing a relationship and supporting a relationship. It is ultimately a commitment to what is beautiful, true and good. And thus learning for our students to learn to have those conversations, deep conversations with truth, the true north right at the center, and having those conversations with grace and mercy and nuance because they're very different from person to person to person. At the end of the day, the goal is not just winning an argument. The real goal is let's bring transformation, the transformative power of God's love in the hearts and souls of students and people. That's what we should be after.
- [20:46]
Tudor Dixon
Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on the Tudor Dixon Podcast.
- [20:54]
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- [22:36]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Where do you see the business actually heading?
- [22:39]
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Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co Editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton.
- [22:45]
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- [23:23]
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- [23:55]
Tudor Dixon
And I think it's interesting that that kind of conversation, truth and love, was banned from. From YouTube. And if you talked about anything that you said, you can't be transgender, you were banned from YouTube. But truth and love of God, you were also not allowed to talk about that. And that's why it's so important to hear the Vice President of the United States come out and say, I am allowed to talk about Jesus Christ because it was controversial. Think about how strange this is. It was controversial in 2016 when Donald Trump said, we can say Merry Christmas again. Now we're amazed that we're talking about Jesus Christ in a country that was founded on Christian values.
- [24:38]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah, you know, interesting. I was in. I was just in New York City this past. This week, working on a partnership between our university and some organization and organization in New York City. And I had a conversation with an individual there who shared with me that some of the individuals who oversee broadly this institution and others were concerned with the use of the word God given. Now, what do you think about that? God given. They had concerns about the use of that term, God given. I thought to myself, wow, this is incredible to me. Here we are in a country that has deep, profound Christian influences in its founding and throughout its history on the part of all kinds of people and leaders. Right. And now we're saying that it's dangerous to say, or we shouldn't say, God given about goodness or about kindness or about benefiting people. Like, this is crazy to me. It's sad to me. So I think, though, that one of the beautiful things that, as you mentioned on the part of the Vice president and even of the president and others, is that they have had the courage to stand and introduce or reintroduce important questions and conversations to challenge the conventional orthodoxy that has been in place for decades. And now that has been challenged and jarred. We're actually having conversations, sometimes difficult ones, but we're having a conversation about Jesus, about faith, about spiritual formation, about the role of higher education, the real role of higher education. How about the purpose of politics? You know, as I was in New York City yesterday, I spoke at a high school there, and a student came up to me and said, can we talk? I know, sir, you have political science background. Can we talk about politics? And what do you think? Because some people say it's bad and we should never get involved, and I don't know what to think about it. What do you think? I said, look, politics is the art of how to live together well in a society. That's really what politics is about. How do we live well together in a way that everyone can flourish? That means we have to get involved, we have to be speaking, we have to be talking. You just can't disregard it. Now if people mean by politics, manipulation and control, that's not good. That's not we're talking about. But we cannot have individuals or let that definition really overcome the true definition of politics, which is the art of living well together. I think I'm in. We should all be in that conversation. And so I think that what the vice president, President has done and others are doing is really opening up this conversation. And it's a complicated one, it's a difficult one because the conventional orthodoxy has put a number of things in place for decades that are being challenged and no one likes it or those people don't like it. I understand. But we have to have the conversation about all kinds of things right now if we're going to live well and live well together.
- [27:32]
Tudor Dixon
Tutor When I was in high school, I took a class called Comparative Religions and the only religion that was not in there was Christianity. They talked about. Yes, yes. And honestly, I've thought about it so many times as an adult at the time, I had no idea what was happening. I really didn't. It was an elective. I wanted to learn about other religions. It never dawned on me, sweared they don't talk about Christianity. And it was comparing all religions, none were compared to Christianity. But I think about that, I mean, gosh, I was in a High School 30 years ago. So think about the impact over 30 years of how that. I feel like they were just testing at that time to see how far can we push Christianity out of the mainstream. And now it's way, way beyond that. And now if you talk about your faith, you're being attacked. I think if we look at what's happened in the last few weeks, I mean, really, what was offensive about Charlie Kirk was that he wanted people to get married and have kids. That was what people thought was so offensive about him. The message of Christ was to have a three strand rope to get married and worship the Lord and have children and continue his kingdom. That was so offensive that people. There has been an outrage in this country, but the impact to me is so strong. The image of Christ has come out in such a great way. Once they finally did their worst and they took Charlie's life here on Earth, the reaction of Christians was to come around and celebrate his life. No outrage, no breaking into buildings, no protests, nothing like that. It was to say, look at what he did to further the kingdom. That sends a huge message.
- [29:31]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah. And I think honestly, the most powerful thing that I have chills just even talking about it was Charlie Kirk's wife saying I forgive you. That to me spoke volumes, volumes, volumes. More than anything else that will be done and could be done, that she was willing to go out and say, I forgive you. I forgive you. That is so powerful and so beautiful that she did that. And so I think we have an incredible opportunity before us. And it doesn't mean there will no longer. There will not be challenging times and horrible times like what just happened to Charlie Kerr. I think there is an antagonism about what is true and about the gospel, about Jesus. I mean, if you look at his last comments, speeches to the apostles in John 13, 14, 15 and 16, he says, do not be surprised if the world hates you. He hated me first. Don't be surprised if you get kicked out of synagogues and you're taken to death. It's going to happen. It's going to happen to me. So I think we have to be honest that there is a real significant spiritual battle that has physical ramifications, patience in the world. Now, the message of the gospel, God conquers darkness and evil, where darkness and evil didn't just sit still. They're going to fight back in some way, shape or form. It's a spiritual thing. We're told. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood. It definitely spiritual, but it has physical ramifications. So I think the Charlie Kirk murder and assassination is one of those. And every time you see these horrific shootings or whatever happens, it's so terrible. That's what it is. It's a spiritual cry of anger and hatred. I remember speaking to a young, young person several years back here in Michigan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. And this individual said, you know, I remember asking this person, why are you so angry at these other people? Why are you so angry at them? And I'll never forget what he said. I'm really, really angry at God, but since I can't do anything about it, I'm gonna take it out of his people. Wow. It was the answer. Right?
- [31:32]
Tudor Dixon
We know where that comes from.
- [31:34]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
And a sobering answer to me. Right. And I really do think. I think you see this with. I think I shared this with Eric Macaxis a couple weeks ago. You see this with Cain and Abel. I can't. I'm angry. And I'm really, actually angry at you, Lord, but I can't do anything about that. So I'll take it on Abel. Right. I think you see that, and I think that I hope it doesn't continue to happen, but it could. This is spiritual anger, hatred, disgust at God. Right. And so therefore, we can't do much about that or the idea, but we can do something about those who embody the idea body, the gospel. And that's what's scary to me.
- [32:13]
Tudor Dixon
That shows that there truly is a revival, though. And that's why I sat my girls down, because they were asking, you know, why would someone who speaks for Christ like this, why would they go after him? And I said, look, it hasn't happened in my lifetime until now. And I think that's because we see young people returning to the church. Our church just planted a new campus. Said, look at our own church. We just planted a new campus because so many young people are coming back. And that's when the devil has to start working again. And that's what we see. The devil is real, and if you think he's not, then you're being very naive and you're taking great risks. You talked about Erica Kirk and forgiving the man who shot her husband. Can you, for our audience, explain a little bit about what Christian forgiveness is?
- [33:00]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah, that's a great. That's a great question. And first, I will say I'm always mindful of a simple prayer that I think most people in the world know and have prayed. And maybe sometimes we pray we don't think much about, which is the Lord's Prayer. So when disciples ask Jesus, teach us to pray, right, and he says, you're going to pray this way. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the day, our daily bread, and forgive us our sins and debts, says we forgive those who sin or owe us. I mean, that at the core of his prayer was you have to forgive others. If you expect the Father in heaven to forgive you, that's what you have to do. Right? So I think that the core of that, it's a message for us as Christians and anybody else as well, the centrality of forgiveness, which is you let go of your desire to carry out justice for the wrongs that have been done to you. Right? I mean, Jesus Christ openly said it many times, the Lord will take care of those things. I entrust myself to him. And that's hard to do because we are all justice seekers in a very flawed way. Right?
- [34:12]
Tudor Dixon
I mean, you can't do his work. You can't do his work. If you are held by unforgiveness, unforgiveness does not free you up to do his work.
- [34:21]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
But you know, I mean, in Christ's message to his followers and to the people who are following, listen to him, was, be careful how much you condemn. Don't condemn and judge, because you're going to be judged and condemned in the same way. And secular philosophers have said this. It's so easy for us to magnify the faults of others and minimize our own. Just a standard fear for human life, for human beings. But forgiveness turns it around.
- [34:47]
Tudor Dixon
Forgiveness says that really hits home, doesn't it?
- [34:49]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah, forgiveness turns it around. It says, the Father in heaven, the Lord God, who created all things from everlasting to everlasting, has every moral prerogative perfectly sought to judge you for your sins. And he chooses mercy in a way of forgiveness when he will be perfectly justified to deal with you. So let that be the example for you. Forgive like your Father forgives. If you expect that forgiveness, which is you let that go.
- [35:18]
Tudor Dixon
And I hope that parents that are listening are understanding why it is important when you send your kids off to college that you choose a university that has those values. And that's what I love about Cornerstone is that that continues. My kids are in Christian school. That message continues throughout their time at university. But there are some people that can't make it to campus. There is all kinds of discussion right now about the fact that the college degree is unattainable. People can't afford it, they can't fit it in. It's the most expensive time we've ever seen. I mean, just I take my kids to fast food and it's like going to what would have been going to a fancy din a few years ago. I mean, I'm not kidding. I just am shocked by it.
- [36:01]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Acapella is not very expensive lately.
- [36:03]
Tudor Dixon
Yes, right, exactly. So when I look at that, I think, how will I ever get to college? But there are other opportunities for online, to do it at your own pace, things like that. And that's something that I love about what you've been able to do. Soar is a new program that you guys have created at Cornerstone, the first in the nation where you have a smartphone based app that you can actually get a business degree. Tell us about it, because it's something so many people are looking for at this time.
- [36:34]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Thank you, Trudeau. We worked on it for two years, invested our own resources to develop something because we knew we were in a higher ed crisis in our country. Not Just the moral crisis we're talking about now. But you talk about the fact that In Michigan alone, 5 million adults in Michigan, no college degree. In west Michigan, it's over 700,000 adults with no college degree.
- [36:56]
Tudor Dixon
That's half the population because there's 10 million people here. So for people who don't understand what Michigan the population looks like, half of our people have not received a college degree.
- [37:08]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
It's incredible. And out of the over 100 million adults in the US with no college degree, 42 million of those have some college but no degree. They've never finished and they're not going back. This is a serious problem in our country for the economy, for our families, for our democracy, republican democracy. We've got some problems here. So we decided to tackle that. How do we take a world class cornerstone education to adult and to any student who wants it? They can't come here. Maybe they're far away or maybe they're disenchanted or maybe they think they can't afford it. How do we switch this whole thing around and go to them? So we created our the country's first accredited bachelor's degree delivered via a mobile phone, Apple or Android device. The entire degree is delivered in a world class learning experience. Tutor, I will tell you beautiful experience. And the degree will cost no more than $24,000 for the entire degree. I want to say that one more time, tutor, if I may. No more than $24,000 for an entire accredited world class degree in strategic business management. It's revolutionary. We got rid of the cost, the high cost to entry barrier, you know, the disenchantment, the irrelevance oftentimes of higher ed. And we developed a beautiful model where it's immediately applicable. It's micro learning. So you learn as you go as you can, consume as much as you want at your own pace. As you mentioned, it's just relevant. And we're seeing an incredible, incredible outpouring of interest on the part of companies and individuals and some incredible stories already of students saying I never thought, I never thought I could do this. I never thought I could go back. I have a family, I have so many things. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this. And we've seen students already be promoted at their places of work because of it.
- [38:58]
Tudor Dixon
Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on the Tudor Dixon Podcast.
- [39:04]
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- [40:34]
Variety Podcast Announcer
There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new Daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.
- [40:48]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Where do you see the business actually heading?
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Variety Podcast Announcer
Featuring the iconic journalist the of Variety and hosted by co editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton.
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The only constant in Hollywood is change.
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Variety Podcast Announcer
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- [42:06]
Tudor Dixon
What I think is the most fascinating part about it. So we used to do, we used to pay for employees to go to college when we had our steel foundry. So important, especially when you have a manufacturing company like that, you need people with management experience. They need to be able to get a business degree to understand that. But they're also working long hours and we wanted to be able to balance those things. This you can do at your own pace.
- [42:30]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yep. And this, I mean, I can tell you a number of students who are doing it and they tell us we're doing it on our commute to work.
- [42:38]
Tudor Dixon
Really?
- [42:39]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Yeah. It's all micro learning. So you have, it's multi sensory. We have podcasts, we have interviews, we have audio books, we have videos. And so little bites of knowledge and beautiful content provided to the student in a streaming model app. And so we have a student, actually we're speaking with this individual this evening who said, actually, and I might commute to work in and out. I listen to my podcast, I listen to my audiobooks, and when I get to work before I enter, I do the assessment and I go into work. So we have many examples like that. So we've made it tremendously flexible because today's students need flexibility, tremendously accessible, a price point that's incredible. And then world class content. And we believe it's just a beautiful solution and a beautiful way to bring a world class education to help so many, many Americans who need it.
- [43:29]
Tudor Dixon
Well, and even President Trump was, I think, a champion for you on this because I heard him when he was interviewed about Charlie and he was talking about how smart Charlie was and what a great kid he was. He said, I always wanted him to go get a college degree. I thought that's so funny because that was not Charlie's message. But even President Trump is on board that he thinks you need a college degree to get. And you really, you know, I think there are, there are great things you can do with trade, trade skills and a trade degree and you can, you can own your own business and you can become a great entrepreneur. But if you want to be in the business world and be competitive in a bigger business, then oftentimes you need that degree. And you, you even have President Trump.
- [44:11]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
On your side well, too. That's wonderful to know. And I will tell you, I mean, regardless of, despite the conversations about whether college is valuable or not, the data does not lie. It's still the most important credential. For fiscal financial flourishing of an individual in a family. Degree attainers who complete degrees oftentimes based on number of studies, live five to seven years longer than those who don't have a degree. I mean, really. Yeah, it touches every part of your life, a very serious thing. So it's not just a credential. I mean, it has deep, profound implications on the quality of life we live on, how we raise our families, on our democracy. If you think about individuals who have degrees, they tend to be more involved, voting more, more involved in civic organizations and volunteering than those who don't. So it's really a transformative thing for our country. And we also did something else. We did soar because we wanted to reach this 100 plus million Americans who are never going to go back to college or never going to start because of the price and the cost and the lack of flexibility. But we also did a tuition reset a couple years ago where we lowered our tuition by 22%. So we are the most, you know, from a private university. We're probably the most competitive, high quality university in terms of price and content out there right now. And we've seen the market react because parents have realized we're taking this very seriously. We want not just a great opportunity to enroll the adult, but the traditional student, traditional family. Please come on in. We have made it very affordable for you too.
- [45:45]
Tudor Dixon
And it's an, I mean, for anybody who doesn't know where it is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, you are in a beautiful spot, great family values. You drive to the beach at Lake Michigan. It is just a great place to. I mean, I really cannot, I cannot say enough good things about the area that we are in. But I appreciate you so much. I appreciate what Cornerstone does. We are so excited to see where SOAR goes, but it's always a pleasure having you on. Dr. Marino Riano from Cornerstone University, thank you so much, Tudor.
- [46:16]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Thank you for all that you do as well for Michigan and the country. And thanks for the opportunity. Have a great rest of your day. Thank you so much.
- [46:21]
Tudor Dixon
Thank you. And thank you all for listening to the Tudor Dixon podcast. For this episode and others, go to the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can watch it at YouTube or Rumble Uterdixon. Join us next time and have a blessed day.
- [46:38]
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- [47:38]
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- [48:08]
Variety Podcast Announcer
There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.
- [48:22]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Where do you see the business actually heading?
- [48:24]
Variety Podcast Announcer
Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co Editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton.
- [48:30]
NFLShop.com Announcer
The only constant in Hollywood is change.
- [48:33]
Variety Podcast Announcer
Open your free iHeartradio app, search daily Variety and listen now.
- [48:38]
NFLShop.com Announcer
A new NFL season means a fresh start and fresh style. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play. Fan like a pro and shop now@nflshop.com what is it that makes the all new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid an incredible suv?
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Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
Is it the spacious interior that's comfy for the whole crew or the capability to go off road?
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Maybe it's up to 600 plus miles of range.
- [49:23]
Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
What if it's all of that and more? What is it then?
- [49:27]
NFLShop.com Announcer
The all new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid.
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Dr. Jerson Marino Reano
So much more than just another SUV.
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Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details.
- [49:38]
Tudor Dixon
This is an iHeart podcast.