Schools play a pivotal role in equipping students with essential skills, knowledge, and personal qualities needed for success. Organizations like Higher Education Innovation, LLC guide schools along the path of transformative development. With President Dr. Mary Landon Darden at the helm, the company empowers colleges to innovate, transform, and flourish during the time of transition. Dr. Darden’s leadership is an inspiration for women who want to leave their mark in academia. Her professional career at the higher education level began in the mid-1990s when she built a small division from a couple of hundred to 6,000 part-time enrollments with innovation, entrepreneurship, and determination.
Dr. Mary Landon Darden has received various awards, including the 2001 National Exemplary Award that was awarded to her by the National Council of Continuing Education and Training. She holds a Baylor University doctorate in educational administration and now serves as a consultant, publishing her first book, “Beyond 2020: Envisioning the Future of Universities in America,” in 2009. In 2015, Darden founded Higher Education Innovation, LLC (HEI), with entrepreneurial reinvention of higher education as its focus. Her second book, Entrepreneurship the Future of Higher Education, received American Bookfest Award in 2021. HEI has been successful in empowering colleges to drive leadership innovation, drive recruitment, and build workforce partnerships.
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Jay Box and George Washington University President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg tasked Dr. Mary Landon Darden with the task of exploring and building training for the future generation of education innovators. With their endorsement, Darden seeks to take HEI’s successful methods to a larger platform, forcing higher education to adopt a Silicon Valley mindset. Some of the advice she provides to prospective women leaders include hard work, risk-taking, improving communication, and mentoring other women in a bid to build innovation and leadership in academia. Her research, for instance, includes her dissertation which focuses on empowering and building the ability of women in academia.
Recognized by The Knowledge Review as One of the Top 5 Unstoppable Women in Education in 2024, Dr. Mary Landon Darden’s contributions to higher education exemplify the power of visionary leadership and innovative strategies.
