Gies College of Business

It’s Time to Transform Higher Education

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Apr 25, 2022 Accountancy Alumni Business Administration Faculty Finance Student


The education market is changing right in front of our eyes, but too many colleges and universities remain rooted in the same practices and business model they’ve kept in place for literally centuries.


By Jeffrey Brown, Dean of Gies College of Business, University of Illinois

NOTE: This is an opinion piece authored by Gies College of Business Dean Jeffrey R. Brown about the state of business education and future opportunities for schools willing to act boldly and adapt. You can read Dean Brown's full white paper "It's Time to Transform Higher Education" by clicking here.

Not too long ago, Blockbuster Video was an integral part of American culture. Its aisles were packed with customers perusing the boxes of movie rentals. But disruption came in the form of online streaming and the company was unable to pivot, leading to business irrelevance and its current status as pop-culture punch line.

That same irrelevance is the fate that could meet higher education institutions who don’t recognize and embrace the forces of disruption all around us.

Gies College of Business
515 East Gregory Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: 217-300-7327