Dear Friends,

Lately, for many reasons, I’ve been thinking a lot about the meaning of partnership. I’ve felt blessed, in my short year and a half so far at Simmons, by my partnerships with the president, with Simmons’s five deans, with the faculty, and with other administrative leaders. 

I’ve been in academia long enough to know that even when we all should be “joint venturers” in a common project, that’s not necessarily the way people approach the work. I am grateful that, at Simmons, we see each other as sharers in a critical enterprise: players on the same side of a team, cohabiters of our institutional home, dance partners discovering—together—an intricate choreography. They say it takes two to tango, and it’s clear that it takes many more than two to “have a ball” doing our work.

Recently, I received special insight into one particular partnership that is helping to shape the ways we educate our students and to extend the reach of some of our prestigious programs. As many of you know, several years ago, we established an affiliation with 2U, an organization dedicated to providing the highest quality online educational experience, including immersive course content, live face-to-face classes, real-world learning experiences, social engagement, and dedicated student services. 2U accomplishes this work exclusively through partnerships—through effective cooperation with universities like Simmons. And we have discovered all the ways in which 2U employees are true thought partners with us as we launch our programs. (A photo of the Nursing@Simmons Admission team with Deputy Provost Stefan Krug and me.) 

Indeed, we’ve grown accustomed to the faces of certain 2U employees on our campus, and we collaborate with them in “core teams” that make the decisions about how we will deliver our nursing and social work programs in an online environment.  Some 2U leaders have the opportunity to see our faculty at work here on campus, fulfilling a dream we built together. But we at Simmons have very few opportunities to see the inside workings at 2U. 

In December, 2U partners Maggie Ruvoldt (EVP and General Manager, Simmons), Megan Spoone (Assistant Director of Operations), and Jason Zocks (Regional EVP, Graduate Programs) were in town, and they invited several of us to visit 2U Headquarters in Landover, Maryland if we were ever down that way.

And it just happened that some of us were down that way in January for the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. Deputy Provost Stefan Krug and I sent a quick email to see if we could schedule a last-minute visit. We had no idea how graciously we’d be received. We spent an entire afternoon with our partners.

We were greeted at the door of 2U’s high-rise office building by Megan Spoone and Andrew Morin (Operations Manager). Soon, we arrived at 2U’s first floor conference room where we were greeted by CEO Chip Paucek, EVP Jason Zocks, and Harsha Mokkarala (EVP, Marketing Strategy). Harsha and his team led us through a succinct overview of 2U’s marketing strategy and their sophisticated application of multi-channel recruitment methods.

We met 2U employees from every area of the operation, but perhaps the highlight of our visit was the opportunity to see the Simmons nursing and social work admissions counselors at work—as well as the placement and student services personnel!

We were blown away by their energy, enthusiasm, and whole-hearted representation of the Simmons culture and community. We enjoyed the pride they took in their Simmons affiliation—working in an environment decorated with Simmons flags and shark warnings (see photo below). You would be so proud of all of them. (Here we are again with the SocialWork@Simmons Admission team.) 

We have been hearing about the incredible work done by these 2U teams, and it was truly wonderful to have a chance to see them and to thank them for all they have done to make our programs successful. Talk about mutuality in a partnership: let’s not forget that the admissions counselors are the first Simmons voices our prospective students hear. If that human connection isn’t made by them, it won’t ever be made by us.

We look forward to a return visit, and we want to make certain that additional Simmons faculty and staff will also have an opportunity to visit with these members of our team.

I couldn’t help but note that my thoughts about “partnership as dance” were embodied in a particular way in the 2U offices. CEO Chip Paucek has a disco ball hanging in his office, a glittering reminder of the spirit of fun that is so pervasive in his office culture. It’s also a reminder that 2U does all its work through partnerships. They cue up the song. They extend a hand. We need to remember, from time to time, that our work is fun, and that accomplishing our goals can be as satisfying as learning an intricate dance.

Many standard dances begin with what’s called the acknowledgement: a bow or a curtsey that tells your partner “thank you for honoring me with your company.” We should all acknowledge the growing significance of online graduate education and the vital role played by mission-complementary partnerships like the one we enjoy with 2U. The world of higher education is changing rapidly, and these 2U teams help us face the music and dance.

 

Best regards,

Katie Conboy,
Provost and Senior Vice President