The Queen Sacrifice — Gambling the Most Precious Asset in Higher Ed with Bryan Alexander

In late 2013, our guest, futurist Bryan Alexander, and colleagues crowd-sourced a new metaphor into our higher ed vernacular: [The Queen Sacrifice](http://bryanalexander.org/2013/12/03/colleges-prepare-to-sacrifice-the-queen/). According to Alexander, The Queen Sacrifice is a strategy in which “a college or university sacrifices one of its most vital elements (faculty, academic offerings) to ward off financial woe.” The perils of a queen sacrifice are plenty, implying both a practical fissure in the institution, and a cultural one. When financial restructuring is on the table, pushing cuts of academic programs shines a spotlight on institutional values and mission, in addition to financial woes.

This week on Navigating Change, Bryan Alexander joins us to address a question that eludes the most talented academic strategists: how do you transform academic structures and programs without diminishing the mission?

**Links & Notes**

- [BryanAlexander.org](http://bryanalexander.org)

- [Colleges prepare to sacrifice the queen](http://bryanalexander.org/2013/12/03/colleges-prepare-to-sacrifice-the-queen/)

- [Future Trends in Technology in Education](http://ftte.us/)

- [Rascovar: At Mt. St. Mary’s, Newman was wolf in the hen house](http://marylandreporter.com/2016/03/06/rascovar-at-mt-st-marys-newman-was-wolf-in-the-hen-house/)

- [_Revolution in Higher Education: How a Small Band of Innovators Will Make College Accessible and Affordable_ by Richard A. Demillo](http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Higher-Education-Innovators-Accessible/dp/0262029642?tag=rashpixel_mwl-20)