Paulette Dillard, President & CEO, Shaw University
In an interview with Invest:, Paulette Dillard, president and CEO of Shaw University, discussed affordability, workforce alignment, and the broad impact of AI. “If everybody is not equally allowed to embrace AI, you create one more scenario of haves and have-nots. Universities, public schools, and all of us have to figure this out,” Dillard said.
What changes over the past year have had the greatest impact on Shaw University and its long-term vision?
In the past year, higher education has experienced major changes, primarily because of changes in the Department of Education and the way various programs are administered. Rules and regulations that had been in place for decades are now different, and universities are having to rethink how they go about the business of higher education.
The perception of the value of a college education has also come into question. Universities have long been catalysts for opportunity and advancement, and institutions are now reflecting on how they continue delivering that mission in a changing environment.
The opportunity to learn, create, and come into your own has not changed. We still believe strongly in that mission. What has changed is how we deliver it, and we are having to make adjustments.
How are those changes affecting the way students learn and the programs Shaw offers?
Affordability is a major concern. There is this idea that the cost of higher education has perhaps exceeded its value, and that everyone does not need a college education. At Shaw University, over 90% of our students require financial assistance of some type to afford college, so when eligibility and funding structures change, institutions have to respond.
We need to find ways to assist students or deliver education in a more cost-effective manner. That is challenging when the cost of goods and services continues to rise, and infrastructure maintenance remains expensive.
The data is clear: people who earn a bachelor’s degree make, on average, more than $1 million more over their lifetimes than those whose highest level of education is a high school diploma. That does not mean someone cannot be successful without a degree, but for many populations, college remains a critical pathway.
We are also facing the demographic cliff. There are fewer traditional college-age students, so institutions need to think differently about recruitment and educational attainment. In North Carolina, we are still short of the number of people needed with post-secondary education to meet workforce demands by 2030. The students are there, but not always in the traditional demographic.
How are workforce demands influencing the academic programs and career pathways Shaw is prioritizing?
That is the question we get asked more than any other: What are we doing for workforce development, and how are we modifying curriculum and programs to meet demand?
As a liberal arts institution, our mission has historically been to train teachers, social workers, and people in careers that I call the moral fiber of our country. Those jobs are always going to exist, even if they are not always highly compensated.
Teachers are grossly underpaid, despite the tremendous value they provide. We would not have scientists or computer experts without teachers who taught them how to learn. Social workers are equally essential when addressing the social challenges facing communities.
The question becomes how we continue producing individuals who choose those careers while also making them more marketable in the workforce. We augment their skills. In addition to a degree in sociology or psychology, students need computer skills, analytical abilities, and familiarity with technology.
We have also introduced a cybersecurity program focused primarily on cyber operations, including malware analysis and ethical hacking. We are focused on understanding and predicting how cyber threats work. We were recently designated as a Center of Excellence in cybersecurity by the National Security Agency, and that has generated a great deal of interest.
The primary thing we are doing is maintaining our core while augmenting that core with skills that make students more competitive in the workforce.
How do you see technology and AI evolving in higher education?
I have attended several conferences on AI and participated in panels discussing its impact on higher education. I have been asked whether it is a blessing or a curse, and I tell people it is a tool. It is a tool just like the internet and any other technological tool.
In the hands of individuals who are taught how to use that tool, AI has amazing potential. But if it is used to displace humanity without guardrails, then it is not a great thing. It is the responsibility of universities to introduce AI as a tool, not a crutch. The driver of that tool is still the human mind.
We are embracing it. We are trying to get faculty and the campus community to create guardrails for how AI is used in courses and in daily work. People need guidelines on when they can and cannot use it, and they also need to know how to verify the information they receive.
That is what we have always done with technology. When Wikipedia emerged, students were told they could not use it as a source of data because there were no guardrails on who could contribute information. But if you validated that information through research, it became a useful tool. That is what we have to do with AI. If it is used to express creativity or enhance learning, it can be valuable. If it is used to bypass effort and creativity, then it becomes problematic.
We will continue to see efforts to create guardrails around AI, but it is absolutely critical that students learn how to use it properly. We do not want them to avoid it and then find themselves at a disadvantage in the workplace.
If everybody is not equally allowed to embrace AI, you create one more scenario of haves and have-nots. Universities, public schools, and all of us have to figure this out. We’ve got to be able to prepare individuals to exist in a world that will have AI.
How are Shaw University’s partnerships creating opportunities for students and graduates?
Being located in downtown Raleigh, one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, affords ShawU students many opportunities. I can look out from my office and see Red Hat, leading law firms, the state capitol, and legislative buildings. All of those represent opportunities and partnerships for students.
We have a recruitment tagline: Surrounded by Opportunity. Our students have access to museums, technology companies, government institutions, and cultural organizations, all within close proximity to campus. It is almost like an expanded campus. These partnerships help ShawU deliver on its promise to students through internships, shadowing opportunities, and exposure to real-world work environments.
Cooperating Raleigh Colleges is another important partnership. Six universities allow students to cross-register and take courses across campuses. We have been doing that successfully for over 50 years, and it gives students opportunities they otherwise would not have.
I cannot say enough about the partnerships we have, and many of them are made possible because of our location in Raleigh.
What are Shaw University’s top priorities over the next three to five years?
My No. 1 priority is the creation of the ShawU District within downtown Raleigh. Shaw University has been in downtown Raleigh for over 161 years, and we border an area that has benefited the least from the city’s economic growth and development.
We want to create a district around the campus that brings town and gown together in a meaningful way. That includes amenities that currently do not exist in the South Park area of downtown and developments that create jobs, placemaking, and stronger integration between ShawU and the surrounding community.
ShawU is also near Dix Park, which is becoming the Central Park of the South. The opportunity to create a district around a historic university that has contributed so much to North Carolina is significant.
Over the next three to five years, our focus is on making the ShawU District a reality. We want students to experience that development firsthand, and we want neighboring communities to feel they are participating in Raleigh’s economic growth.
In doing that, we create a broader and better experience for students attending Shaw University. We satisfy our mission and promise while continuing to contribute economically and culturally to the city.
