How Ohio University’s Relationships-Based Approach Overcame Resistance to Transformation

At the end of October 2024, over 50 higher education leaders congregated in Washington, D.C. for the launch of EAB’s annual IgnitED summit to discuss the sector’s most pressing challenges, including how to successfully navigate an organizational transformation.

Recognizing the challenges of generating support and participation in transformation efforts, EAB experts presented in-depth case studies of three distinct approaches to organizational transformation. Each example showcased how an institution worked with its culture to catalyze transformation by assessing its campus conditions and employing an approach based on that diagnosis.

One of these examples was Ohio University, a large, research-intensive institution. Continue reading to learn how OHIO implemented a shared services center for academic and administrative units despite pockets of campus cultural resistance—and what lessons every institution can take away from OHIO’s successes.