Rollins College is locking in the final corner of its decade-long Innovation Triangle in downtown Winter Park, officially launching the Rick Goings Institute for Management and Executive Leadership. The new institute is set to debut its first executive programs in 2026 and will move into a purpose-built facility now under construction at the Samuel B. Lawrence Center. The project links an expanded Rollins Museum of Art to The Alfond Inn and a suite of executive-education offerings, part of what the college describes as a roughly $200 million investment wrapped around Park Avenue.
According to Rollins College, the Rick Goings Institute will center on what the school calls "leadership judgment," essentially decision-making under sustained disruption, and was launched with support from The Rick & Susan Goings Foundation. The institute is expected to offer custom corporate programs, short residencies, and partnerships with organizations, including the Young Presidents’ Organization. College leaders say the approach is meant to fuse a liberal-arts mindset with hands-on operational training for senior leaders.
PR Newswire framed the announcement as the capstone of Rollins’ Innovation Triangle, noting that the combined campus-and-downtown plan tops $200 million in total investment. The release reiterates the college's timeline that calls for a fall 2027 completion of the new museum-and-institute building at New England and Interlachen avenues, describing the project as the culmination of more than a decade of planning and campus reinvestment.
Leadership and programming
As PR Newswire reported, Anil Menon, who leads the Crummer Graduate School of Business, put the timing in stark terms, saying, "We are living through permacrisis — not a temporary disruption but a permanent condition of compounding instability." Menon will serve as the institute's chief executive and oversee programming that aims to bring together leaders from business, government, and nonprofit sectors. Rollins says it will unveil initial partners and course offerings in the weeks ahead.
Museum, hotel and downtown ties
The college's capital-projects page indicates that the relocated Rollins Museum of Art will be roughly 32,000 square feet, more than doubling existing gallery space while expanding educational programming. Rollins College describes the decision to place the museum next to The Alfond Inn and the new institute as a deliberate move to create a walkable cultural and hospitality hub for visitors and visiting executives. Administrators say the Alfond Inn's expansion, paired with the museum's larger footprint, is intended to bolster cultural tourism and support the college's philanthropic scholarship model.
Why colleges are building executive programs
National outlets have cast Rollins' play as part of a broader trend of colleges leaning on executive education to grow nontraditional revenue. Bloomberg reported that programming will begin this year and is expected to scale into 2027. Locally, the Orlando Business Journal first spotlighted the institute's launch and outlined details of the Innovation Triangle.
What’s next
Rollins says inaugural public programming and custom corporate offerings from the Rick Goings Institute will start in 2026 while construction on the new building continues, with a fall 2027 opening still on the books. The college plans to roll out information on partners and enrollment in the coming weeks. Downtown businesses and local officials will be watching closely to see how the fully built Innovation Triangle shifts visitor traffic on Park Avenue and influences the region's cultural calendar.
