Strategy for universities,
designed for academic leaders

Why am I involved with Ad Verum Partners? Because I believe Ad Verum can help make higher education better. As Yale Provost I needed this help myself. My solution was to hire Tim Pavlis. Yale is a better place because Tim was here. Tim did not want to stop with Yale. He formed Ad Verum to support more academic leaders, and I join him in that effort.

Universities in general are not good at making strategic decisions. We tend to use anecdotes rather than data. We tend to be lobbied by schools rather than schooled by reason. We tend to look inside at our problems rather than outside for solutions. Nike and Adidas are more serious when analyzing how best to fasten a sneaker than universities are in analyzing how best to fasten time to degree. Yet it seems plausible that the design of a course, or the design of a lab building, or the design of a financial aid system is at least equal in importance to the design of a shoelace.

Tim's charge was to make our decision making more data driven, more nimble, more professional, and -- more simply -- better. He did far more than that. He changed not just the way we do things but the way we think. He provided an analytical backbone. He pushed our thinking. We made better decisions together, while building skills that made us a better team.

Just as Tim helped me, I believe Ad Verum can help you.

Ben Polak
Former Provost, Yale University (2013-2020)
Chair, Ad Verum Partners Advisory Board