We’ve all been there. You are sitting in a meeting with a committee or your supervisor, considering a potential new program, curriculum, or policy to meet a perceived need on campus, when someone says something like, “Let’s start by examining best practices. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.” Everyone else nods with either enthusiasm or resignation: the next two weeks are going to be spent trying to learn how your institution’s peers, aspirational peers, and competitors have addressed a similar need.
Beyond Programs: Leadership Lessons from Ireland’s Inclusive Universities
During a recent sabbatical studying inclusive postsecondary education in Ireland, I visited four universities—University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and Mary Immaculate
Ashley Rodrigues
July 20, 2026
