ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we explore how to navigate the landscape of universities. As a potential collaborator, it is important for you to understand what motivates a professor, dean, or program director by gaining insight into the university ecosystems, such as the differences between embedded schools and colleges, how universities prioritize teaching, research, and service, the different categorizations of research status, specialization, and focus. We highlight specific examples related to the University of Michigan, Centre College, and Drexel University. We discuss the types of faculty employed in universities and why they may or may not be incented to take your call. Our “View from the Ground” provides reflections from a senior data scientist at The Home Depot who has been a long-time member of an academic advisory board. The chapter concludes with our checklist that every manager of an analytics organization should consider when engaging a university for recruiting talent, conducting research, collaborating on innovation, or teaching continuing education.
