Doug Becker moves to China

I have long believed that real innovation in higher education will not come in the US, but from some area such as China or India where there are enormous higher education needs, and greatly constrained resources compared to those needs.  It is there that the very expensive US model of higher education will run prove most ineffective.  Apparently Doug Becker, Chairman and CEO of Laureate Education, is of the same opinion. He has just announced that he and his family are moving from Baltimore ( the home of Laureate) to Hong Kong so that he can establish a new Asia headquarters there.  Doug and his team have been incredibly innovative in the way they have built Laureate thus far, and I am sure they intend to bring that innovative spirit to Asia with them.   

In his announcement of his move to Laureate employees, Doug also noted that the investors behind the recent private equity buyout of Laureate included Paul Allen, George Soros, and the endowment of Harvard University (see also Can the stock market understand for-profit higher education? Feb.23, 2007).  Harvard must be hedging its bets on the future of higher education!

Comments

[Kris Olds]

For one update on this issue see:

http://globalhighered.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/xi%e2%80%99an-jiaotong-liverpool-university-and-liverpool-international-college/