Developing polymaths means developing leaders who are creative problem solvers.
Our approach to higher education is informed by two decades of science that shows the value of polymaths for innovations that want to innovate and solve complex problems. Here are some of the studies whose insights drive Polymath University.
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Is College Still Worth It? The New Calculus of Falling Returns
William R. Emmons, Ana H. Kent, and Lowell R. Ricketts
The college income premium is the extra income earned by a family whose head has a college degree over the income earned by an otherwise similar family whose head does not have a college degree. This premium remains positive but has declined for recent graduates. The college wealth premium (extra ...
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Education for What?
Lumina Foundation/Gallup Poll 2013.
Today, the value of higher education is under more scrutiny than ever as tuition rates soar and enrollment and completion rates continue to tumble across the U.S. While COVID-19 exacerbated some of the challenges facing higher education institutions nationally, enrollments were declining prior to the pandemic. Still, the economic case …
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Serial Innovators: How Individuals Create and Deliver Breakthrough Innovations in Mature Firms
Bruce A. Vojak, Raymond L. Price, and Abbie Griffin
For over 25 years, research on innovation has taken the perspective that new product development can be managed like any other (complex) process. In sharp contrast to this process view, we reframe the problem by exploring a people perspective on innovation, focusing on the cutting-edge serial innovators who repeatedly create ...
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Do Double Majors Face Less Risk? An Analysis of Human Capital Diversification
Andrew S. Hanks, Shengjun Jiang, Xuechao Qian, Bo Wang, Bruce A. Weinberg
We study how human capital diversification, in the form of double majoring, affects the response of earnings to labor market shocks. Double majors experience substantial protection against earnings shocks, of 56%. This finding holds across different model specifications and data sets. Furthermore, the protection double majors experience is more pronounced ...
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In Pursuit of Polymaths: Understanding Renaissance Persons of the 21st Century
Angela J. Cotellessa
This phenomenological study focused on the lived experiences of modern day polymaths. The constructs of openness to experience, identity, self-directed learning, polymathy or multi-disciplinarily, and intrapersonal functional diversity were used to frame the research. The primary theoretical lens of this study is based on Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory...
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Polymathy: A New Outlook
Michael E. Araki
This article aims to contribute to the study of polymathy by introducing novel perspectives on the phenomenon and by advancing a new model that systematizes the different variables involved in its development. The article is divided into four sections. The first section involves a reflection about the nature of polymathy ...
