Strategic Education, Inc. owns the Jack Welch Management Institute (JWMI) at Strayer University, a for-profit online educational school situated in the United States. It was formed in 2009 by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch and his wife, novelist and public speaker Suzy Welch. For working adults, JWMI provides an online executive Master of Business Administration degree, as well as graduate certificates and executive certifications. Strayer University’s corporate office, 2303 Dulles Station Blvd, Herndon, VA 20171, is the company’s headquarters outside of Washington, D.C.
History
In 2009, the Jack Welch Management Institute was founded in collaboration with Chancellor University. The cooperation was made feasible by Jack Welch’s friendship with entrepreneur Michael Clifford. Welch put up $2 million to buy a 12 percent stake in Chancellor University Systems, the firm that runs the university. As a result, the MBA programme was renamed The Jack Welch Management Institute by Chancellor.
Welch sought to build a high-quality MBA programme that would incorporate his leadership philosophy and human resource management into a 12-course curriculum. The curriculum incorporated Welch’s ideas of candour, distinction, voice and dignity, people-driven management, and authentic leadership.
Classes commenced in January 2010 after the institute opened in June 2009.
Welch approached Robert Silberman, CEO and Chairman of Strayer Education, Inc., in April 2011 to negotiate the institute’s relocation to Strayer University. “Chancellor wasn’t a nice vehicle,” Welch said after paying roughly $2 million to reclaim his namesake. In December 2011, Strayer Education, Inc paid $7 million to Chancellor University for the Jack Welch Management Institute. As a sign of his financial interest in the programme, Welch invested $2.8 million in Strayer Education.
Academics
Through online classes, the institute offers an approved Master of Business Administration, graduate certificates, and executive certificates in a variety of business-related areas. The online MBA programme takes 18 months to complete. Graduate credentials take 9 months to complete, whereas executive certifications take 6 weeks.
Under the Welch Way brand, the institute debuted a series of online, self-guided, self-paced management training programmes in March 2013.
Welch established the MBA curriculum based on his experience as GE’s CEO and training managers and executives at the company’s Leadership Development Center. He was a prominent lecturer at the institute in addition to helping to define the program’s curriculum. He spoke to students via video stream on a frequent basis and had video conferences with them at the end of each semester.
Conclusion
Unlike other institutions, this institute was founded by a brilliant business leader. Students at the Jack Welch Management Institute have the rare chance to study from JWMI’s Experts of Practice, who include some of today’s most powerful CEOs, many of whom were mentored directly by Jack. Every aspect of the programme is intertwined with Jack’s winning and time-tested perspective on leadership development, people management, and more.
Each course is designed by Jack and a team of prominent business researchers from across the world to produce the highest potential student outcomes.