Harvard Will Never Be "Harvard" Again



As the world is now learning, Harvard President Claudine Gay has resigned. 

That follows the resignation of Liz Magill from the position of President at the University of Pennsylvania. This is likely just the beginning of a broad-based shakeup of higher education, starting with the elite institutions and rippling on down to the small liberal arts ones in New England.

What put this in play has been the extreme self-confidence, power and wealth of leaders on Wall Street. CEO of alternate asset management firm Apollo Marc Rowan kicked it off. Soon enough head of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management Bill Ackman got in and in a big way. The pile-on grew. 

Governance will never be the same in academia. That's where seismic disruption will erupt because accountability will be demanded. 

Those giant brandname law firms which usually parachute in to assist with the governance matters of corporations could be handling lots of work in the non-profit sector of higher education. They include Skadden Arps, Quinn Emanuel and Paul, Weiss. Some might recall it was the latter which established the first ever law firm specialized practice for ESG (Social Environmental Governance). An op-ed on O'Dwyer's Public Relations notes that educational institutions have to get a lot smarter about the dynamics of the public opinion.

Meanwhile, Rowan, Ackman and others in the Wall Street tribes have become the action heroes of the second decade of the 21st century 

In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)


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