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from the editors Live and Learn J ust a few weeks before my college graduation, I received advice that I've never forgotten. It came from my boss in the law school's central office, where I worked as a student assistant. "You will never have the opportunity to meet as many dif- ferent people as you have here on campus," she said, with a sense of urgency in her voice. "Take advantage of it while you still can." At the time, I thought she was being dramatic. Certainly, I thought, I would meet even more new people after graduation! But now I realize how right she was. The density of networking and learning opportunities is exponentially greater on a university campus than just about anywhere else. It's only on a college campus that people from different ages, ethnicities, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds all gather in classrooms, dorm rooms, dining halls, and campus quads to live and learn together in a myriad of unex- pected ways. These interactions help us think of new ideas and send us in directions we might never go without them. But the truth is, these powerful learning experiences don't have to end at graduation. In fact, today's employers realize that if their employees stop learning, their problem- solving capacity and creativity are likely to fall dormant. That's why even now, with bud- gets constrained by a recession, companies are still investing in executive education. They want to expose their executives to the new experiences found only in educational settings. In this issue, we take a closer look at how exec ed has evolved in just the last few years. In "Executive Deci- sions," we learn that companies want exec ed programs that will help them achieve specific strategic objectives, not just hone individual skill sets. In addition, we hear from executives at Deloitte about the benefits they hope to real- ize from the company's recent US$300 million investment in a new corporate university. Business schools also are staying connected to the needs of corporations through partnerships with indus- try. In our article "Corporations on Campus," we learn more about a novel partnership the University of Delaware and Syracuse University have established with JPMorgan Chase—the company has opened branch offices on each campus, where students, faculty, and JPMorgan Chase staff work and learn together on an ongoing basis. It's too easy for executives—for all of us—to forget how valuable it is to go back to school, in person or virtually, if even for a short time. I've never again had access to such a diverse set of people and learning experiences as I did in college. But recently, I decided to return to a college classroom again. I was amazed at how much I've missed being a student. That's something many of today's executives are discovering. They're heeding my old boss' advice to take advantage of all the contagious energy and fresh perspectives that a classroom has to offer. 6 July/August 2012 BizEd RAQUITA HENDERSON DIGITAL VISION/GETTY IMAGES