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Bill Strickland is one of the world’s great social innovators. As head of both the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and the Bidwell Training Center, located on Pittsburgh’s gritty north side just down the street from where he grew up, Strickland has created a youth development and adult training center like no other--in both approach and results.
Over nearly 40 years, he has created an environment surrounded by stunning art, the sounds of jazz, beautiful orchids, and brilliant architecture. Starting with ceramics, photography and jazz, this world class facility provides free programs that get kids into college and adults a job with a future in culinary arts, horticultural technology or medical coding.
Even with 70%-80% of its students considered "at-risk", more than 80% of Manchester-Bidwell's 500 regular students complete high school and attend college. Bidwell also enrolls 500 adults annually, placing 90% of its graduates in full-time jobs.
The recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant in 1996, Strickland has financed his dream in part through innovative and pioneering partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and the development of numerous social enterprises. He has teamed up with eBay founder Jeff Skoll, Johnson Controls, and others to begin wide spread replication of the Manchester-Bidwell model in urban areas around the world starting with San Francisco, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and, maybe, even hurricane ravaged New Orleans.
Strickland compares artists to entrepreneurs: "Artists are by nature entrepreneurs, they’re just not called that. They have the ability to visualize something that doesn’t exist, to look at a canvas and see a painting. Entrepreneurs do that. That’s what makes them different from business people. Entrepreneurs are by definition visionaries. Entrepreneurs and artists are interchangeable in many ways. The hip companies know that."
Host Tim Zak asks Strickland if he has ever found it frustrating to be a perpetual entrepreneur in the nonprofit sector where the general public--and even many key supporters--assess performance using measures of efficiency, predictability, and effective administration rather than creativity and innovation.
Bill Strickland is the President and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation and its subsidiaries, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) and Bidwell Training Center (BTC). His duties include: developing and implementing major fund-raising plans of action; working with Boards of Directors and an Industry Advisory Board; encouraging participation of corporate executive officials from major multi-national Pittsburgh corporations. Strickland has completed the development of a new 40,000 square-foot production greenhouse, created for agricultural training; a 70,000 square-foot medical technology complex; and a 62,000 square-foot facility as a mortgage free asset for both MCG and BTC. The facilities include a 350-seat music/lecture hall, library, arts studios and labs, dining and meeting rooms, state-of-the-art award winning audio and video recording studios. Together they serve as a demonstration site for Hewlett Packard and Steelcase equipment.
Strickland was born in Pittsburgh in 1947, and graduated from David B. Oliver High School in 1965. In 1969,he earned a bachelor’s degree in American history and foreign relations from the University of Pittsburgh and graduated cum laude.
About MCG Jazz
All arts and music programs of the Guild share a common vision born from Founder Bill Strickland's personal experience -- that through direct involvement in the making of art and through personal exposure to the masters who teach and perform it, our lives will be enriched, even transformed.
The winner of three Grammys in the last four years, MCG Jazz's mission is to preserve, present and promote jazz. Through our performances, we strengthen the long time Pittsburgh jazz community and contribute to the overall cultural and artistic diversity of the region. Through our live recordings we reach a national and international audience -- a market we'd like to grow. Through our educational programs we are able to have students attend the concerts at low or no cost to them, make artists available for master classes and provide opportunities for internships in production and marketing.
Resources
This free podcast is from our Globeshakers series.
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