NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
The
quantum future of education
But in 2022 , NAU is facing what Burrell calls a “ perfect storm ” of new , present-day challenges : “ I think it ' s fairly widely known that higher education is totally disrupted with a global pandemic , declining numbers of college-going students , the rapid pace of change in technology and this idea of the great resignation that ' s going on and has increased competition for talent .”
These challenges are compounded by financial imbalance , important social conversations around racial inequality , and the maturity of identity politics that go beyond surface level ‘ representation ’. In the face of adversity , NAU sees opportunity . It has a new mission under the leadership of Dr . José Luis Cruz Rivera , the 17th president of NAU who began his tenure June 2021 and empowered the leadership team to do more .
“ The new president is bringing a fresh vision and a board who would like us to become more of an access institution ,” Burell says .
“ So we ' re deep into the strategic road mapping process , looking to connect everything we do to provide greater opportunities for Arizona citizens to obtain the education they need to advance the prosperity of their families and adapt to rapidly changing 21st century workforce conditions .”
Quantum thinking To reconcile NAU with its roots and beat a path for its new mission , the NAU leadership team knows change is necessary .
“ Rapidly evolving in this unpredictable and often chaotic climate that we ' re living in today suggests that deeper dimensions of leadership are required ,” says Burrell . “ We need to embrace a new paradigm of thoughts and I think we need to embrace the kinds of thinking brought forth by quantum leadership .”
Distinct from ‘ Newtonian leadership ’, Burrell equates quantum leadership to the findings of Max Planck , the grandfather of quantum physics . They form the fundamentals of
252 March 2022