Rollins College has launched The Rick Goings Institute for Management and Executive Leadership, completing its transformative $200 million Innovation Triangle and establishing a new standard for advanced leadership and management education.
The new Institute builds on Rollins’ longstanding commitment to pragmatic liberal arts education and is designed to address what the College describes as a critical capability gap in executive development: strengthening leadership judgment in an era defined by sustained disruption. As senior executives contend with geopolitical realignment, regulatory volatility, technological acceleration, and shifting stakeholder expectations, the Institute will focus on helping leaders exercise sound judgment when traditional frameworks no longer apply.
Made possible through seed capital from the Rick & Susan Goings Foundation, the Institute joins the Rollins Museum of Art and The Alfond Inn as the three pillars of the Innovation Triangle, the result of more than a decade of planning and investment.
The Rick Goings Institute will deliver advanced leadership education for executives who have already established core leadership capabilities. Its programs will center on cultivating clear thinking around complex operational challenges, navigating market transitions, managing technological change, and translating strategy into effective execution during periods of disruption and growth.
Inaugural programs are set to launch in 2026 and will include custom corporate offerings and strategic partnerships with organizations in Florida and beyond. Among the initial partners is the Young Presidents’ Organization, founded in 1950 by Rollins alumnus Ray Hickok. Additional partnerships and program details are expected in the coming weeks.
The Institute will convene leaders from business, nonprofit, and government sectors under a shared vision that transformative leadership can help organizations navigate complexity with ethical clarity and long-term societal impact. Its approach is built around three key elements: delivering serious business content from experienced operators and scholars; providing extended engagement among leaders facing similar challenges; and fostering cross-sector collaboration to generate innovative solutions.
Drawing on nearly a century of leadership development, Rollins will anchor the Institute in its pragmatic liberal arts tradition, which blends liberal arts with business, STEM, and professional studies to promote critical thinking. The College has a historic role in shaping liberal arts education, including hosting a landmark 1931 curriculum conference on the liberal arts chaired by John Dewey. By applying this foundation to executive education, the Institute aims to cultivate meaningful perspective, advanced systems thinking, and a human-centered leadership approach.
Rollins College, founded in 1885 and located in Winter Park near Orlando, serves approximately 3,200 degree-seeking students annually. It offers undergraduate programs through the College of Liberal Arts, programs for working professionals and adult learners through the Hamilton Holt School of Professional Advancement and Graduate Studies, and MBA programs through the Crummer Graduate School of Business.
KEY QUOTES
“I’ve spent 30 years in strategy consulting and industrial operations. Traditional executive education gives you frameworks. What it doesn’t give you is judgment—the ability to think clearly when the frameworks don’t apply anymore. I’ve believed instinctively for a long time that what’s missing is what a serious liberal arts education develops, but I haven’t been able to articulate it correctly. Now someone finally has.”
Eric Spiegel, Former CEO Of Siemens USA And Partner At Booz Allen Hamilton
“We are living through permacrisis — not a temporary disruption but a permanent condition of compounding instability: fracturing political orders, collapsing alliances, and technology eliminating entire categories of certainty. Efficiency and scale are no longer sufficient measures of leadership. What’s broken down is judgment — the capacity to read genuinely novel situations, decide when to act, and explain those decisions to stakeholders with fundamentally different worldviews. That is precisely what RGI is built to develop.”
Anil Menon, Chief Executive Officer Of The Rick Goings Institute And Dean Of Crummer Graduate School Of Business
“Rollins has long held that a liberal arts education cultivates critical thinking grounded in multiple perspectives and thoughtful judgment, preparing graduates to challenge conventions, integrate new ideas and innovations, and lead by forging new paths. In recent years, Rollins has advanced a series of initiatives that reinforce our standing as a leading higher education institution not only in Florida, but nationwide. As a cornerstone of our Innovation Triangle, The Rick Goings Institute will further strengthen our ability to educate and develop leaders who are ready to meet this moment by building resilient organizations, strengthening communities, and creating lasting impact.”
Brooke Barnett, President Of Rollins College
“Throughout my career, and especially as CEO of Tupperware Brands, where we empowered a salesforce of millions of entrepreneurs, my focus has been building leadership and an entrepreneurial mindset at every level. Leadership is a human endeavor, and the best leaders bring out the strengths of the people around them to drive results. As technological change, geopolitical shifts, and market volatility reshape how organizations operate, it’s more important than ever to recognize the distinct value of human judgment, perspective, and purpose. The Rick Goings Institute will expand access to human-centered leadership approaches that enable organizations to thrive today and in the future.”
Rick Goings, Chair Of The Rollins Board Of Trustees
“Rollins understands that leadership develops over time, through experience, reflection, and the exchange of ideas with others who are doing the work. The Innovation Triangle brings those conditions together in a powerful way. With this launch, Rollins is building a forum where accomplished leaders can sharpen the judgment and human understanding required to guide institutions wisely and responsibly.”
Grant Cornwell, Chairman Of The Advisory Board Of The Rick Goings Institute And President Emeritus Of Rollins College
