EdTech: Bruce Dahlgren of Anthology On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact On Education

Can you expand? Especially with technology, new opportunities and innovations are constantly emerging. Successful endeavors must have the ability to expand to ensure long-term success.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course, many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. In this particular installment, we are talking to leaders of Education Technology companies, who share how their tech is helping to improve our educational system. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bruce Dahlgren.

Bruce Dahlgren is a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience. As Chief Executive Officer at Anthology, Bruce leads a diverse team of higher education and technology experts to empower clients with innovative solutions and services. He strongly believes in the importance of a company’s purpose and how organizations can serve the greater good.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

I was very fortunate. I had one of those ideal childhood scenarios: growing up in a loving and supportive family. We moved a lot because of my father, who also was a successful business leader. Many people struggle with moves and having to make new friends and go through change, but those moves have shaped me and my personality. I was exposed to so many unique and different people and experiences. Because of that, I can adjust easily and anticipate change while adapting quickly to a new environment.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I’ve collected a lot of unique stories through the years, but one stands out on both a personal and professional level. Back in 2007, my family, including our three young children, had just moved to San Diego as I was taking on a significant new role.

But, one early morning, around 4:30 a.m., we were awoken by a raging wildfire. In 10 minutes, we were out of the house with nothing but the clothes on our backs. The fire burned our home to the ground within 30 minutes. Nothing was left.

It was hard because we had not even unpacked all our boxes and were in a completely new city when this incredible family tragedy hit. You never think something like this is going to happen to you. What was really cool was that the company and my family rallied together almost immediately. It made us all stronger and appreciate what we did have — each other. It was an incredible learning experience for us and our children and a reminder to find something positive in any situation.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Selecting one person is difficult because so many have impacted me throughout my life and career. But Mark Hurd, former Hewlett Packard CEO, was a mentor to me during a pivotal point in my career when I consciously decided to expand what I felt I could accomplish. I’d worked for him in other capacities before he brought me over to join him at HP, and he was probably one of the toughest bosses I ever had. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room or have every great idea. But always be prepared for what’s thrown at you, and Mark encouraged that. He was tough, but he made me better.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My father always said: “Work hard. Pursue your dreams. But enjoy the journey.” It’s a simple concept but doesn’t come naturally to many of us. The key is not making every step just another accomplishment to get to the next thing. Instead, make sure that what you’re working on is something that you enjoy right now.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

• Have a career destination and own the process to get there. Your goal might be a specific role or net worth, but you must take control of your journey. If you talk to any successful person, you’ll find they were willing to make the tough choices and took accountability for the work required to achieve their goals.
• Take calculated risks. One day, while I was at Hewlett Packard, I was running a business unit and thriving in that role when then-CEO Meg Whitman called me on a Saturday and asked me to move to Singapore to shore up HP’s Asia region. Before I even hung up, I got the signoff from my wife and told Meg, ‘Yes.’ You need to capitalize on those change opportunities in your career. That move was the best thing that ever happened in my career and for my family.
• Build a team. Sometimes, people think that success is something you build on your own. I believe it comes from surrounding yourself with the best people, building on those relationships, and enabling those individuals to be successful. It’s amazing how that will pay unexpected dividends.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive social impact on our educational systems. To begin, what problems are you aiming to solve?

Higher education institutions are grappling with a host of issues, including enrollment, retention, and budget challenges. At the same time, we also see a significant shift in student needs and expectations.

During my time at university, candidly, I used much of that time to grow up. But today’s students are much more mature than I was in college, and they expect more from higher education. For them, college isn’t just an opportunity to learn or to make friends in the dorms. Students seek outcomes — whether it’s a particular skill set or micro-credential that will help them stay current or equip them for future success. What’s more, they expect colleges and universities to move with the world they grew up in, which is a truly digital and mobile space.

Educational systems must operate with a digital mindset and keep pace with these changes to ensure students are ready for their next steps. Whatever we can do to help institutions prepare students for life-long success is important work and has a purpose and a positive impact.

How do you think your technology can address this?

Educational systems have a tradition of being very analog. Historically, education too often involved students memorizing and reciting facts. But now, we are experiencing tremendous change, and digital advances are driving a lot of transformation in this space. And that’s a great thing. Education is no longer just about memorization; it’s about assessing situations, interpreting, and communicating with others. It’s about synthesizing and translating what students are learning into meaningful applications. It’s about sharing that knowledge and opening up education to people across the globe through online learning opportunities. All those activities are easier in this digital world.

At Anthology, our motto is the Power of Together, and we’ve worked very intentionally over the years to pull together once siloed activities into a single platform — a single platform that includes learning management, enterprise performance, and customer relationship solutions. With it, colleges and universities can follow a student through their entire college experience. They can use technology to recruit students, allow faculty to teach in a modality that fits their students’ lifestyle, and welcome them back as alumni eager to remain competitive and upskill or even as donors who want to give back.

Features like these can help institutions deal with the issues of retention and funding while ensuring they’re providing students with a digital-forward experience.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about education?

During my graduate program, I wanted to pick up some extra income to use on the weekend. I got involved in leadership at the school and was asked to be an adjunct professor. One class I taught was on operations research, and I think back to teaching that class and how that played out in my choice to go into high tech — it gave me an early entry into an analytics mindset. The class I taught was popular, and I thrived in that environment. I just had a passion for that.

Since then, I’ve spent my career in technology, but I also now sit on a university board. I have a unique vision of many issues on campuses across the country and the world. This is a pivotal time for education, and being a part of it is exciting.

How do you think your technology might change the world?

I’m excited about our work in artificial intelligence. At Anthology, we recognize AI’s potential for supporting the kind of learning that needs to happen now — preparing students with the skills they need to synthesize data and understand and use AI in their future careers, whether it’s in medicine, economics, or business.

We’ve been very deliberate in our approach to AI and launched an AI-facilitated solution last year to help faculty members build courses and assessments. Our goal is to show university leaders the benefits of AI so institutions can begin to harness its full potential, which will be transformative.

Keeping the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks to this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Much of the focus on AI has been on its drawbacks — harmful bias, bad outputs, and a lack of transparency and accountability. It’s very important to be aware of those potential issues. But, with that knowledge, it’s also essential to understand and embrace its benefits responsibly and safely.

Anthology has been very intentional about that. We’ve brought together institutions and academics to discuss AI’s ethical use in higher education. We also launched our Trustworthy AI principles program, which aligns with legal models and guides such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, the EU AI Act, and the OECD AI Principles. Our focus is on reliability, fairness, transparency, safety, and accountability while always ensuring humans are in control.

And we’ve recently released an AI Policy Framework to help institutions develop their policies. This is a rapidly emerging area, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of it. We will continue to serve the sector with best practices as AI evolves.

How do you envision the landscape of education evolving over the next decade, and how does your technology fit into that future?

We’re currently helping faculty members use AI to design their courses so they can see the benefits and internalize them. And, with our AI Policy Framework, we’re guiding institutions on how to build smart AI policies that make sense for them.

Our goal is to help faculty members and leaders embrace AI because, in the future, it will elevate every aspect of the educational experience. Once they understand its advantages, they will be ready to meet students’ needs around it. Today’s students need institutions to be tech-savvy. I’m particularly interested in how AI can mine unstructured data and pull those assets, such as photos and videos, into teaching and learning.

Humanity has long been building new languages, new vernacular, and new knowledge. Technology is just another one of those languages, and these fast-moving advancements are transforming what education is all about. I’m excited to be part of this journey.

Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?

Through my various experiences working for and leading large-scale technology organizations and business units, there is an absolute methodology to ensure success. Every business leader needs to be asking these important questions:

1. Are you disrupting the market? Whether it’s a business idea or some other activity, your idea must change the market or make it better.
2. Is there market potential? I serve on some startup boards and see many great ideas with no market potential. If you want to have an impact, there must be a desire for whatever the innovation is.
3. What are the barriers to entry? It may be a great idea with a lot of potential, but assessing the entry costs and determining if challenges can be overcome is critical. Is the idea actually feasible?
4. Do you have the ingredients for success? To launch anything, you’ll need physical and capital investments, along with the right talent and skill sets. Are they available? If not, are they within reach, or will the lack of resources hold you back?
5. Can you expand? Especially with technology, new opportunities and innovations are constantly emerging. Successful endeavors must have the ability to expand to ensure long-term success.

In the realm of EdTech, data collection is often involved. How do you ensure the ethical handling of user data, especially when it concerns students?

Privacy and security continue to be a massive issue. Innovation always includes risk. More than ever, it’s up to us to educate those in our industry about warning signs, red flags, and ways to protect their data and students. It’s one reason why Anthology created its Trustworthy AI program and AI Policy Framework, which places privacy, security, and safety among its leading principles.

In my many years in technology, I’ve never seen an innovation that doesn’t come with challenges and complexities. But, at the same time, it’s amazing how we tend to overcome that so that technology and advancement can shine through.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society like you, what would you tell them?

Pick whatever interests you and pursue it. I picked something exciting to me, and I went from being impacted to actually impacting it very quickly. That’s a really cool transition. Look for ways where you can be the one driving change.

Is there a person in the world, or the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Mark Cuban. I thoroughly enjoy Shark Tank because it embodies and rewards new ideas, change, and creativity. But it’s hard to make any of that real if somebody isn’t willing to fund it. He strikes me as somebody who stands out and is authentic. He’s had a very interesting and successful career. And wouldn’t it be cool to have that kind of bank account where you could help people fund their disruptions?

How can our readers further follow your work online?

People can follow me on my LinkedIn page to check out what I’m up to and the Anthology website to see what we’re up to next. https://www.anthology.com/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.