Yale University and the Impact of Future-Oriented Leadership During the Covid Pandemic

This case study explores futures thinking and organizational policies in higher education with a specific focus on Yale University. The aim of the study was to analyze and discuss Yale University’s experience in using foresight to plan and adapt to the needs of a “new future” in higher education stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic. It was found that Yale University successfully: (1) conducted scenario-building for long-term strategic planning; (2) used AI-driven software (including chatbots) as a strategic tool to improve online learning; and (3) developed organizational policies to institutionalize and sustain new learning strategies and new employee roles to support these strategies. This case chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications for the use of foresight and futures thinking across higher education more broadly.