Changing Higher Ed

E321 - Building Fairleigh Dickinson's Lifelong Learning Ecosystem Across Five Generations

Published: July 21, 2026

Duration: 40:44

Program discontinuation is usually the fight presidents avoid. Fairleigh Dickinson University put a significant slate of program discontinuations and consolidations to a faculty referendum, and roughly 88 percent of the faculty endorsed it. The vote reflects a larger redefinition underway at FDU: a shift from the four-year degree to a university built around lifelong learning.

In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Michael Avaltroni, President of Fairleigh Dickinson University and the first FDU graduate to hold the office, about the four-P framework guiding that redefinition: programs, people, partnerships, and place.