When the Pot Boils: The Decline and Turnaround of Drexel University

When the Pot Boils examines the decline and near bankruptcy of Drexel University in the late 1980s and early 1990s and its subsequent dramatic turnaround. David A. Paul provides an in-depth analysis of the multiple factors that contributed to this process, including the role of the market, the academic culture, corporate governance, and key leaders of the institution. Drexel’s story of decline through years of student protests, faculty conflicts, a destructive labor strike, and two failed presidencies is a parable of failed corporate governance and a warning of the challenges to colleges and universities in the increasingly competitive world of higher education. Paul argues that for schools facing financial difficulties, retrenchment strategies must be set aside in favor of the more difficult task of developing organizational missions and programs that matter in the marketplace.

“This highly readable and informative case-study of the recent fortunes of Drexel University in Philadelphia demonstrates how effective leadership and wise strategic decisions can reverse the fortunes of a failing university … [a] useful addition to our literature by identifying the circumstances under which Drexel’s new president reversed the university’s path to certain bankruptcy and what strategies seemed to work in these circumstances.” — Higher Education

“David Paul combines a wealth of detail with compelling narrative force to hold the reader’s attention while the important lessons of Drexel’s decline and turnaround are set forth.” — William F. Massy, coauthor of Remaking the American University: Market-Smart and Mission-Centered