The child of a blue-collar Canadian family, Paul LeBlanc, PhD, has gained notoriety as one of the most successful innovators in U.S. higher education. What drew Dr. LeBlanc to academia was the human interaction between teacher and student and its transformative power. No matter how higher education evolves and innovates, he believes, that fundamental connection must remain. Disruptive innovation doesn't just happen by "throwing spaghetti at the wall," Dr. LeBlanc says, but requires forethought ("knowing what kind of innovation you are trying to do"), the right people, and the right incentives. Most institutions, he notes, say "We care about our students" and yet don't incentivize faculty and staff to truly care and prioritize the student experience. In this first installment of a two-part series with WittKieffer Senior Advisor Elsa Núñez, EdD, Dr. LeBlanc speaks about his career journey and how it led him to innovate and find new and better ways to reach students, most notably as president of Southern New Hampshire University, author of Broken, and co-founder of the company Matter and Space. Innovating and advocating for change hasn't always been easy, he shares: "You do more by getting kicked to the mat than you do by winning the fight."

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