‘Leading the Way’ Podcast: Dr. Gerald Turner on Attracting College Grads

In this week’s episode of Leading the Way ( now available on iTunes ), Dr. Gerald Turner, president of Southern Methodist University, discusses his perspective on college life today, how technology is influencing the academic world, and the future of collegiate learning.

SMU is an innovative university on the forefront of strategic research, technology, diversity, and inclusion. President Turner shares insights about the next generation of college graduates entering the workplace, how they are preparing to “stand out” in a world of Artificial Intelligence, and what you can do as a company to attract and retain this eager-to-help group of young professionals.

Key soundbites

• On leadership development – “Leaders need to be honest with themselves about what they can do and what they can’t do, when they need help and when they don’t, when they are being impetuous and when they’re losing their temper…because certain characteristics will hinder you and others will help you.”
• On generational differences – “Millennials are more self-focused than other generations but they’re also more eleemosynary. They really want to do good, help people, and do something significant in their life. Every 10 -15 years there’s a different orientation among students in terms of what they’re really concerned about and how they view themselves.”
• On generational workforce planning – “Make sure not only their environment is supportive of them, but that there are opportunities. Because everybody likes to progress. These millennials are looking for those kinds of things that are rewarding to them.”
• On collegiate technology – “A lot of Master’s programs are going to be online programs or combinations, because people do like to have the opportunity to see face-to-face with their professors. So you can have what’s called a blended program. As for professors, they have to learn to be presenters on camera. It’s a different skill.”
• On diversity & inclusion – “We’re starting a whole program this year called Cultural Intelligence, and it’s an education program. It’s not a diversity program. It basically is an effort to try to give people information about others, whether it’s race, religion or ethnicity.”

About Leading the Way

Leading the Way is a weekly radio and podcast series that highlights influential business leaders and leading people practices from i4cp. Hosted by Emmy-award winning radio host Scott Murray and i4cp's Angel Carlton, the show feature interviews with respected business leaders, from Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt to "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban.

The show airs live each Sunday at 4pm CT on KLIF 570 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and debuts on iTunes  and the i4cp website the following week.