Executive Summary for the College of the United States

"The object of education is to prepare the young to educate
themselves throughout their lives."

Robert Maynard Hutchins, President, The University of Chicago, 1929-1951

Vision and Concept

            To create the global leaders of tomorrow who will fulfill the vision of our Founding Fathers by becoming successful men and women of principle and action, capable of spreading the benefits of reason, individualism and the bounty of liberty worldwide through their work and their example. 

            Education, thinking and values in the United States are at a critical juncture.

- Global competition is intense, and innovation at an accelerated pace.

- Research shows success requires leaders of unusual thinking and creativity, as well as excellent practical and moral judgment.

- Research shows U.S. colleges’ traditional methods and post-modernist ideas largely fail to develop these requisite abilities in students.

- Our original curriculum and methods are specially constructed to foster these abilities.

- Negative public sentiment towards Academia is building, adding to market opportunity.

People are looking for alternatives, providing an historic opportunity to bring Reason, Individualism and Freedom back to Academia in a secular format.

The Problem

            The Public has recently become aware that current influential ideologies do not reflect their values. Moral and ethical relativism, interventionist government, entitlement politics and hostility to classical liberal values reign in Academia and ‘higher’ culture.  Collectivism and Statism are in disarray but still powerful and influential.     Moreover, most colleges suffer from:

- Teachers with little or no training or knowledge in human development and optimal learning conditions.

- Too many professors pressured to work on research, so that teaching is left to inexperienced graduate students.

- The teaching of the power of reason and scientific method compartmentalized in science and engineering, with little to no correlation with the humanities and the most important issues governing our lives.

- Teaching which is often narrowly focused on particular specialty subject matter, with no systematic methods used to compare ideas in one course to those in another, no focus on integrating knowledge.

- Relativism and a worldview premised on man's impotence in comprehending or conquering reality dominant in the humanities.

- Political correctness which shuts off discussion of important issues and problems.

- Differing views shunned or ridiculed.

The Solution

            We will provide a unified, intellectually comprehensive, four year liberal arts and sciences college program incorporating internship experience and/or lengthy research projects (submitted to journals).  We will utilize teachers specially trained in Socratic Practice and Montessori principles, of teaching as applied to adults, to maximize learning effectiveness. The program will be vetted by a committee of educational experts from around the world.  Students will be well-prepared for workplace leadership and graduate school.

- B.A. in Liberal Arts awarded upon graduation.

- First enrolling class:  150 freshmen – Target Date Sept. 2009

- Accreditation through North Central Association of Colleges and the American Academy of Liberal Education.  Goal: by graduation of first enrolling class (2013)

- Long-term build a series of colleges on a common campus, each school enrolling 600 maximum.

- Offer in-person and video-conference adult education seminars for added income.<!--[endif]-->

Mission

            The mission of The College of United States is to impart an education that will prepare young people to be principled, creative individuals of independent judgment, capable of succeeding and leading in tomorrow’s dynamic world civilization.

The unified, integrated curriculum will feature:

- The greatest, most influential works in civilization as the core texts (the Great Books and more).

- In addition, works by powerful, important and neglected thinkers such as Ayn Rand and Ludwig Von Mises.

- Heavy emphasis on thinking skills in every subject, stressing the powerful tool of conceptual integration.

- Deep study of the history of civilization – ideological, social, scientific, artistic and economic.

- Rational, reality oriented philosophy to turbo-charge conceptual organization. 

- Intense seminars emphasizing deep analysis and broad integration of ideas from all domains of knowledge, including serious study of the marketplace.  Examine knowledge through civil, principled, rational discussions unfettered by PC codes.

- Highly credentialed faculty selected for dedication to objectivity and reason, and specially trained in Montessori and Socratic Practice methods of teaching, to nurture students in excellent analysis and independent thinking.

- Heavy research and internship work collaborating with scholars, other institutions and industry in specialized and technical fields.

- Deep financial, executive, administrative student responsibilities in college business to add to practical experience skills.

- Work on public speaking, management and leadership skills.

- Consistent use of empirical research methods to track teaching effectiveness.<!--[endif]-->

The Team

- Educator, writer, and entrepreneur Marsha Familaro Enright and her team created the Curriculum and Business Plans, in consultation with business, education and legal experts.  She founded, organized and ran Council Oak Montessori School for children and adolescents for 15 years. In 2006 it was named by Chicago Magazine as one of the top 25 private elementary schools in Chicago.

- Intellectual Property Attorney, Murray Franck, Trustee for the Institute for Objectivist Studies for 10 years, and a retired Law Professor.

- Organizational Psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar, created the most-attended course at Harvard. He is the author of the positive psychology book, Happier, has global business experience, and is a worldwide lecturer on Mideast politics.

-Academic librarian and doctoral student of philosophy Don Baldino, has extensive experience in telecom.

- Marketer and businessman Ronen Nakash, spent 10 years increasing the Ayn Rand Institute’s income 5 fold.

- A notable group of academic and business advisors, dedicated to classical liberal principles and free inquiry.
Enright will head the venture, working with the team members and recruiting other knowledgeable parties, drawing from a broad array of intellectual and business talent to implement the Plan.

The Industry

- Over 4,000 colleges in the U.S. Almost all private colleges were founded by people with ideological or religious missions.  Two million newly enrolled students in 2003 in a huge industry of over 14 million students.

- 4 main types of Colleges:  Small liberal arts colleges, educate comprehensively through intensive, focused programs; Large public and private universities, aim to prepare for many fields;  Technical and specialty schools, train for specific technical careers; On-line programs, handle working adults’ advancement needs.
Quality – especially teaching quality - suffers in almost all these schools, most staffed by academics in opposition to Classical Liberalism, Reason and Individualism.

Quality – especially teaching quality - suffers in almost all these schools, most staffed by academics in opposition to Classical Liberalism, Reason and Individualism.

Market Objectives and Plan:

            Initially, we will appeal to a niche market out of the burgeoning 14 million market of students. We will establish a reputation for superior education and grow to appeal to a broader market segment. 

Initial Enrollment: 150 for the initial class, about 1/100th of 1% of over 2 million newly enrolling college students.

How?  In addition to our unique program, we will stress research data that shows program, not prestige is fundamental to success and later income, emphasizing:

- Research validated traits of success such as intelligence, creativity and independent judgment as specifically nurtured by our innovative program.

-Only college offering secular program promoting Reason, Individualism and Freedom through its fundamental methods and its use of the Great Books of Civilization and neglected Classical Liberal works, effectively implemented intellectually and practically.

Initial Market Segment Sought:

- Foremost, intellectual mavens – those on the cutting edge of ideas who
    o Aiming for a superior education in reasoning, comprehensive knowledge and understanding.
    o Recognize the innovative quality of our program
    o Aware of importance of educational methods and program for successful future
    o Recognize our enlightened values and ideas, and their practical implementation.

- Those leaning to the ideas of freedom such as Classical Liberalism, Ayn Rand, and libertarianism: Pew and Gallup estimate 2 to 4 million of the college age population lean to the ideas and values of individualism and a fully free society

- Families of former Montessori students seeking a Montessori-style college - Secular home school families

- Great Books aficionados and those wanting an education in the Classics

All of these groups represent a significant, untapped specialty market

Additional Appeal

- Price reasonably for all meritorious and eager students.

- Combine with special scholarship funds to make broad enrollment possible.

- Utilize fresh, energetic, teachers, hand-picked and exceptionally trained in original curriculum and methods with performance-related compensation.

- Partner with specialty technical, engineering and science programs.

- Open enrollment to capable 16 year olds languishing in high school.

- Engage significant academics and public intellectuals drawn to our mission, teaching through specially scheduled courses, seminars, and video-conferencing, adding to income stream.

- Develop evening and vacation courses for adults seeking environment emphasizing Reason, Individualism and Classical Liberalism
 

Business Organization and Funding

- Governance:  Board comprised of Administration, Faculty, Independent Education Experts and members of Public sympathetic to mission and values.

- Status:  Non-Profit Tax Exempt 501 (c) (3) Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute incorporated in Illinois for development work; due to Illinois Board of Higher Education regulations, College itself will be incorporated as Non-Profit, with For Profit arm, when sufficient capitalization reached.

- Funding:
    o College’s creators have invested over $200,000 in cash and in-kind donations of time and research.  This includes 3 ½ full-time years researching market, creating program, and traveling country, marketing the concept.  Team draws on over 100 years of combined experience in education, academia, business and entrepreneurship. 
    o Seed capital of over $90,000 has been donated to fund a major capital campaign, seeking monies from sympathetic foundations and individuals.
    o Loans and scholarships from government come with government controls; funding will be entirely private, comparable to Hillsdale College.

- Funding Required to Meet These Objectives
    o Raise $1 million to develop and vet curriculum, create organization, train faculty, recruit students, lease building and commence full-blown marketing campaign.
    o Raise $3 million endowment for entirely private loan and scholarship program