Challenging the Status Quo

Steeped in a distinctive view of leadership, graduates of the Broad Superintendents Academy have landed some of public education’s top jobs.

Philadelphia

Eli Broad, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist who set up the Broad Foundation in Los Angeles seven years ago, believes that great managers can run anything. The glut of talent in government, the military, and the private sector ought to be tapped, he believes, to help fix what he views as the nation’s most urgent problem—failing urban schools.

And in just five years, an innovative program established by his foundation has produced more than a dozen superintendents steeped in that philosophy who are managing school districts across the nation.

Mr. Broad, who made his fortune in real estate development and financial services, has invested roughly $7 million through the foundation to recruit and train “great managers.” The philanthropy has spent millions more to help graduates of the program succeed once they find jobs—flying Broad staff members and experienced schools chiefs in to advise and consult, paying for outside audits and studies, and providing special training...