Education Revolution: Dr Michael Horowitz Of The Community Solution Education System On Innovative Approaches That Are Transforming Education
An interview with Eden Gold
I wish I understood the depth, complexity and importance of governing boards and of governance in general. Continuous work with the board of trustees is critical to any healthy, functioning college or university system.
The landscape of education is undergoing a profound transformation, propelled by technological advancements, pedagogical innovations, and a deepened understanding of learning diversities. Traditional classrooms are evolving, and new modes of teaching and learning are emerging to better prepare students for the complexities of the modern world. This series will take a look at the groundbreaking work being done across the globe to redefine education. As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview Dr. Michael Horowitz.
Michael Horowitz, Ph.D. is the founder and president of The Community Solution Education System, an integrated, nonprofit system of six colleges and universities that work collaboratively to increase student success and enhance community impact. Prior to founding The Community Solution, he served as president of The Chicago School for nearly a decade. Dr. Horowitz has more than 30 years of experience in higher education roles that include faculty member, program director, and dean. He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
My journey in the field of education leadership began with a passion for psychology and education, which led me to earning a B.A. in Psychology at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Psychology at Northwestern University. While I was practicing as a clinical psychologist, I took on a role as both a professor and dean at the American Schools of Professional Psychology, which further deepened my interest in education. From there, I went on to serve as the founding dean for the Arizona School of Professional Psychology, the first professional psychology school in the state.
In 1999, I decided to take the role of president of The Chicago School, which I held for over a decade. I’m really proud of my work in that role: during my tenure as president, The Chicago School grew from a single-program, single-campus institution with only 215 students, to a prominent multi-campus leader in graduate psychology and behavioral sciences education with more than 2,500 students.
When the global recession hit in the late 2000s, I started to realize that higher education was on the verge of a seismic shift. I predicted — correctly — that in the next few years, many colleges would be struggling to survive due to inflated overhead costs and stagnant delivery models, which is what sparked my idea for The Community Solution Education System. I envisioned a community model that would allow universities to collaborate instead of competing, and to gain resources, share expertise and optimize expenditures in the process. This year marks the 15-year anniversary of The Community Solution, and in that time, it has grown to include six colleges and universities, which span 12 metropolitan locations and educate more than 13,580 students annually.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
After going through graduate school at Northwestern and then working in that same health system a couple of years after I graduated, I realized that their educational system is really designed around medicine. As a psychologist, I had a lot of skills that were certainly applicable to healthcare and with some patients, psychology needed to be the primary focus; however, in that setting, medicine and mental health were not integrated.
That experience motivated me to apply to The Chicago School, where I got excited about the idea of independent schools of psychology that focused solely on that practice. It was interesting that at Northwestern, those “professional” schools with a narrow academic focus were not seen in a positive light. I disagreed. I felt higher education needed more institutions with that level of specialization. Over time, I’ve seen that play out at The Community Solution as our member institutions lean into a narrower academic focus and are able to connect to their communities much more than many traditional colleges and universities.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority in the education field?
After spending over four decades in higher education, from being a graduate student to a college dean to president of The Community Solution, I feel like I’ve had a unique vantage point that has allowed me to understand the higher education landscape from multiple perspectives. I think my previous roles at The Chicago School and other small colleges have especially provided me with insight into the changing field of education, the challenges facing smaller institutions and best practices for success.
Can you identify some areas of the US education system that are going really great?
We’ve continued to see amazing discoveries and innovations coming out of Research 1 universities across the country. That said, at those larger universities, it can be challenging to have that professional practice focus and provide more individual attention to students than it would be at a smaller institution. So, from my perspective, something that really works in higher education — but is often overlooked — is the ability of small-to-medium institutions to develop skilled professionals and take a more personalized approach to learning.
However, in recent years, many of these smaller institutions are struggling… which leads us back to The Community Solution. Our model promotes radical cooperation across our six member institutions, which allows them to share resources and expertise to increase students’ academic success and help them develop into trained professionals.
Can you identify the key areas of the US education system that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
The biggest problem continues to be retention and degree completion. You have to understand a problem to solve it, but instead of making it a priority to track student performance or find out the reasons students leave, many institutions use generic stopgap measures that may not drill down to address the underlying challenges students are facing. Learning and teaching should be the main priority at any institution, but at some universities, it can take a backseat to research, which while important, will not impact most students.
This is why The Community Solution has invested in predictive analytics and tools that can identify when and where students need help. Once we’ve pinpointed the problem, we can provide the support and resources they need to help them succeed academically and complete their degree.
Please tell us all about the innovative educational approaches that you are using. What is the specific problem that you aim to solve, and how have you addressed it?
For the most part, colleges and universities are disconnected from each other, in constant competition with each other and have only their own resources and expertise to draw on. While these issues are less of an obstacle for larger universities with more resources and experts to draw from, they can be very limiting for smaller institutions.
The Community Solution’s approach is innovative because we embrace the concept of radical cooperation. Our System brings together creative minds with diverse perspectives to share their wisdom and expertise and generate fresh new ideas. We can really shake things up, get new ideas by bringing these distinct institutions together to not only share infrastructure, but also our collective institutional wisdom for mutual benefit. Our institutions have learned to problem-solve as a collective and figure out how to navigate the challenges of today’s higher education landscape together instead of attempting to overcome problems on their own with limited resources.
In what ways do you think your approach might shape the future of education? What evidence supports this?
I believe our approach can reshape the future of education by encouraging institutions to collaborate instead of competing and challenge them to rethink the way things have always been done. The world has changed drastically in the last two decades and higher education has to change with it and find new ways to adapt and thrive — and the most effective way to do that is for institutions to work together and share their knowledge and ideas.
Our evidence lies in the success of the colleges and universities that make up our System and their students. From pioneering new program offerings to increasing educational access for nontraditional students, our member institutions are thriving more than ever.
How do you measure the impact of your innovative educational practices on students’ learning and well-being?
We measure success by retention and graduation rates, which are the best proof of our efforts’ effectiveness. Additionally, we look at how students are viewed in the field. We consistently get great feedback on how they’re doing in their practicums and internships, which has become a path toward successful careers for our graduates.
What challenges have you faced in implementing your educational innovations, and how have you overcome them?
One of the challenges of not having more institutions embrace our model is that the culture of higher education is extremely siloed and geared toward individual achievement and assessment. The level of collaboration we employ in The Community Solution is an enormous cultural challenge for governing boards, leaders, and faculty. They can have difficulty embracing the idea that we can be a team across disparate institutions.
Another challenge is that early on, there wasn’t a great precedent for what we wanted to do. We could infer some things from state systems, but it wasn’t a direct comparison. Building something new without an established model was a significant challenge, and it’s one we still work through to this day.
Lastly, it’s always a continual challenge to find the right balance as a collective, whether it’s determining the right mix of infrastructure support, honoring the autonomy of our institutions while figuring out which things are better done at the System-level, and deciding how to make the best use of our resources.
Keeping in mind the “Law of Unintended Consequences” can you see any potential drawbacks of this innovation that people should think more deeply about?
It’s possible that an institution could join a system like The Community Solution but not be the right fit. Higher education is all about people, and unfortunately, you can’t really know if people will want to cooperate and collaborate until you’re actually together. In a system like ours, you need partners who are in it for the long haul. They must be willing to adjust to the changes that inevitably come with shifting your thinking and operations toward a shared infrastructure and collaborative approach. When you’re facing a challenge, that’s when you really see who can truly lean into this way of working. We’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had that experience and all of our institutions have adapted and embraced our model, but it’s still a possibility.
What are your “5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started”?
- I wish I understood the depth, complexity and importance of governing boards and of governance in general. Continuous work with the board of trustees is critical to any healthy, functioning college or university system.
- I wish I had learned earlier that there are many factors that determine how a student comes to a college or university besides just academics. Understanding the student decision process is critical. You want to create something that people want to invest in because students are investing so much in their education.
- I wish I knew how connected finance and budget are to creating academic success. Having your financial goals and budget directly connected to your academic initiatives is critical.
- I wish I knew how truly siloed and fractured higher education can be. Individual entities on a campus do not always identify as part of a whole. It’s very difficult to break through those barriers on the same campus, and especially across institutions. We have done it, but there is still work to be done even within our own System.
- I wish I knew how fierce the resistance to change could be. When you have a vision, you often go into it with rose-colored glasses, but it turns out that not everyone is interested in true collaboration.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You’re more likely to get to greatness if you have an inspiring and strategically sound vision.” — Ari Weinzweig, founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
The idea of vision setting has guided my professional career and personal life. Having a plan without a vision is like going on a road trip without a destination — you might cover a lot of ground, but you probably won’t end up where you wanted to be. I strongly believe that outlining a strategy, understanding your path and having a plan to reach your goals are the most important parts of achieving success.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would love to meet with Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University. He’s a groundbreaking leader who has advanced innovation and proved that access can team up with excellence.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can learn more about The Community Solution Education System on our website and our blog. To read more of my insights on higher education and nonprofit leadership, visit my Forbes Nonprofit Council page.
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold.
Education Revolution: Dr Michael Horowitz Of The Community Solution Education System On Innovative… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.