In 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 initiatives
• How focus and differentiation help students make clearer choices
• The limits of incremental change in moments of structural pressure
• What leaders can realistically control in uncertain conditions

Higher 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 way
• How short-term efficiency can undermine long-term enrollment growth
• What alignment between marketing, admissions, and leadership really requires
• Why awareness is a prerequisite for demand, not a luxury
• How institutions can build shared accountability instead of siloed blame

Alumni relationships are often treated as transactional, a newsletter, a donation ask, a quiet fade after graduation. But as higher education faces enrollment pressure, rising costs, and shifting expectations, the deeper question is how institutions build alumni relationships that are genuinely sustaining and long-term. 

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Ellen Helms, Jana Johnston, and Saajan Bhakta about what meaningful alumni connection actually looks like over time. Drawing from their experiences as trustees, researchers, faculty leaders, and practitioners, they explore why personal outreach matters more than mass communication, how institutions without traditional campuses or sports can reimagine “homecoming,” and why trust and belonging must be cultivated well before students graduate.

In this episode:

• Why personalized alumni engagement outperforms generic outreach
• How institutions can redefine “homecoming” beyond sports and campuses
• The long-term value of alumni relationships for students and institutions
• Ways alumni can support students through mentorship, access, and advocacy
• Why trust and belonging must begin during the student experience

Technological change is accelerating faster than most institutions can adapt. As artificial intelligence reshapes work, learning, and leadership, higher education faces a deeper question: what human skills truly endure when information becomes instant and automation becomes ubiquitous?

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Rishi Jaitly, Founder and Professor at the Virginia Tech Institute for Leadership in Technology. Together, they explore why the humanities, often dismissed as “soft skills”, may be the most critical foundation for leadership in an AI-driven world. Drawing on Rishi’s experience across Silicon Valley, global technology platforms, and higher education, the conversation reframes empathy, curiosity, storytelling, and ethical judgment as essential forms of leadership capacity.

From the concept of the “full-stack human” to the limits of content-based education, this discussion examines how institutions can prepare leaders not just to use technology, but to steward it with clarity, humility, and purpose.

In this episode:

• Why the humanities matter more as technology accelerates
• What it means to develop “full-stack” human leaders
• How curiosity and ambiguity shape effective leadership
• The limits of content-driven education in the AI era
• Why lifelong learning is becoming a leadership imperative

Distinctiveness in higher education isn’t created by accident. It takes clarity, discipline, and the willingness to make strategic choices, especially as colleges face shrinking enrollments, rising costs, and pressure to prove their value.

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Mary Marcy, Ph.D., President Emerita of Dominican University of California, and Lucie Lapovsky, Ph.D., Former President of Mercy College and current College Management Consultant. Together, they explore what truly sets successful colleges apart, how retention and mission clarity drive both academic and financial health, and why collaboration, not isolation, is becoming essential for survival.

From redefining student pathways to rethinking resource models and shared infrastructure, Mary and Lucie offer a grounded look at the decisions that help institutions stay strong in an era of rapid change.

In this episode:

• What truly defines institutional distinction
• How retention and mission clarity strengthen outcomes
• Why collaboration and shared services matter more than ever
• The leadership mindset needed to navigate rapid change

Higher education is entering a new era of digital responsibility. As campuses adopt AI tools, expand online learning, and rely on data to improve the student experience, the pressure to protect that information has never been greater.

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Jeanne Eicks, Rick Merrick, and Pegah Parsi about how universities can build a culture of privacy that strengthens trust, reduces risk, and supports innovation. Together, they explore why privacy is no longer just a legal requirement, how student expectations are evolving across generations, and what it takes to lead responsibly in a world shaped by constant technological change.

In this episode:

• Why privacy must be treated as a shared institutional value, not a checklist.
• How data footprints, AI use, and global regulations are reshaping higher ed.
• What “digital risk” really means for students, faculty, and the institution.
• Why the rise of privacy leadership in higher education signals a major cultural shift.
• How universities can balance innovation with protection—and earn student trust in the process.

Higher education is under financial pressure like never before. Rising costs, shrinking enrollments, and tuition-dependent models are forcing leaders to make hard choices about what to cut and what to protect.

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Jennifer Gantz, Chief Financial Officer of the Community Solution Education System, about how strategic investment, not austerity, is the key to institutional resilience. Together, they unpack why you can’t cut your way to greatness, how shared governance complicates financial decisions, and what it really takes to align money with mission in today’s higher ed landscape.

In this episode:

• Why cutting costs alone undermines quality and long-term growth.
• How program prioritization, shared governance, and transparency create smarter decisions.
• The leadership mindset CFOs need to stay innovative and adaptive under pressure

Shrinking enrollments and financial strain are pressuring colleges nationwide, but survival isn’t about cutting to the bone. It’s about rethinking how institutions scale, collaborate, and innovate.
In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Dr. Jeremy Moreland, president of Saybrook University, about how bold leadership and radical cooperation can transform higher education. From boosting doctoral completion rates to building trust with faculty and embracing calculated risk, Dr. Moreland shares lessons from leading institutions through challenge and change.
In this episode:

• How economies of scale create room for innovation and resilience.
• Why transparency and collaboration are essential to student success.
• What higher ed leaders can learn from risk-taking and failure in other fields.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce, but most colleges and universities are still figuring out what it means for teaching, learning, and leadership.

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz is joined by Dale Pike, Associate Provost for Technology-enhanced Learning at Virginia Tech, to unpack what AI literacy really requires in higher education, and why faculty readiness may be the biggest barrier to progress. Drawing from years of work in instructional design, emerging technologies, and generative AI research, Dale shares a clear-eyed view of what it will take for institutions to move beyond novelty and toward real integration.

From the ethical foundations of AI use to the gaps between STEM and non-STEM learners, this conversation explores how higher ed can embed AI fluency without starting from scratch, and why the real work ahead isn’t technical, but cultural.

In this episode:

• What AI literacy should look like across disciplines
• Why faculty development is essential for institutional readiness
• How higher ed can evolve without abandoning its human-centered mission

Bold ideas alone don’t drive change in higher education. They need structure, support, and shared commitment to take root. 

In this episode of Radical Cooperation, Dr. Michael Horowitz speaks with Dr. Nadege Dady, Dean of Student Affairs at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Harlem Campus about what it takes to lead boldly within complex systems.

From expanding student access to healthcare careers, to navigating institutional risk and building lasting partnerships, Dr. Dady shares how strong leadership balances courage with clarity. Together, they explore why collaboration, communication, and planning are essential to making bold decisions that actually move institutions forward.

In this episode:

• What distinguishes bold leadership from impulsive action
• How institutions can create the conditions for meaningful change
• Why student pathways depend on coordinated, strategic effort

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