John Mogulescu uses the story of his unusual career to consider how change-difficult but necessary-can happen in higher education. He and his team created two innovative colleges and dozens of programs that dramatically increased student success. Offering useful object lessons, The Dean of New Things illustrates how colleges and universities can define their mission far more broadly and argues that they should. Doing so will demand of university leaders something they often advocate but may be hard-pressed to achieve-innovation and change.