ABOUT

Welcome to the Future of College

Who We Are

Mission and Vision

Our Mission is to empower students to become successful, resilient, socially engaged, and ethical citizens of the world for life. Our Vision is that by 2030 leading universities will adopt our operating and academic innovations and model to reform and improve Higher Education in service to society.

NewU is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit

We are a team of educators and entrepreneurs with a vision

NewU is a nonprofit bringing together a diverse group of educators, industry professionals, and entrepreneurs with experience in Higher Education, social entrepreneurship, and industry. We aim to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing Higher Education to remove college access barriers, alleviate student debt burdens, improve graduation and job placement rates and student wellbeing, and reduce underemployment of graduates, and improve on both operating and academic models in use today through our creativity and innovation.

We are the first private nonprofit undergraduate university to call washington dc home in over 100 years

At NewU we believe in leadership by example. Many talk about change in Higher Education, but actual initiatives are limited and far between. We built NewU with everything that works well in Higher Education, subtracted a lot that doesn’t, and added quite a few improvements. We are proud of the milestones we achieved in the past 5 years, which culminate in this rare and bold opportunity to do good for the DC community, for the country, and for the world.

Accreditation and Licensure

NewU University is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit degree-granting post-secondary educational institution, licensed to operate and issue Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees by the Washington DC Higher Education Licensure Commission (HELC).

NewU successfully completed the Pre-Application process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). The institution is now in the next stage of the accreditation process, and is currently engaged with and listed by MSCHE as an Applicant on the accreditor’s website page PRE-APPLICANT, APPLICANT, AND CANDIDATE INSTITUTIONS, which is publicly available here.

More on HELC: The Commission strives to be a national leader in licensing, compliance monitoring, and enforcement and outreach that ensures students are protected and approved postsecondary institutions provide quality education and training programs.
Source: HELC 10/30/2022

Licensure in our nation’s capital by the DC HELC is mandatory for all universities, and serves as a transparent and rigorous quality control and oversight mechanism.

For a list of FAQs or to contact HELC with questions, comments, or grievances, visit the HELC website here. A complete list of HELC-approved institutions is available here.

More on MSCHE: The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is a global institutional accreditor recognized by the United States Secretary of Education since 1952. As an accreditor and member of the regulatory triad, MSCHE assures students and the public of the educational quality for its over 500 institutions of higher education. The Commission’s accreditation process ensures institutional accountability, self-appraisal, improvement, and innovation through peer review and the rigorous application of standards within the context of institutional mission.
Source: MSCHE website 10/1/2023

To contact MSCHE, visit their website here.

NewU Credits Are Transferrable To and From Accredited Universities

San Francisco Bay University

Accredited by WASC.

Students can transfer credits between SFBU and NewU under the terms of our Articulation Agreement. Contact us or SFBU for details on articulated programs.

sfbu.edu

National American University

Accredited by HLC.

Students can transfer credits between NAU and NewU under the terms of our Articulation Agreement. Contact us or NAU for details on articulated programs.

national.edu

Prince George's Community College

Accredited by MSCHE. Students can transfer credits from PGCC to NewU under the terms of our Articulation Agreement. Contact us or PGCC for details on articulated programs.

pgcc.edu

Visible Music College

Accredited by TRACS.

Students can transfer credits between Visible and NewU under the terms of our Articulation Agreement. Contact us or Visible for details on articulated programs.

visible.edu

Partners and Supporters

Board of Directors

Stratsi Kulinski

President & CEO

Stratsi Kulinski is the founder and President of NewU University, the first 3-year Bachelor’s degree college in the US. He previously held various positions with companies in media, telecom, and finance living and working all around the globe prior to finding his passion for higher education. A graduate of the inaugural class of students at the American University in Bulgaria with a BA in Business Administration, he also served as the first alumni president of that university, where he passionately and tirelessly worked to improve governance on the Board of Trustees, fired up student, alumni, and donor engagement, and steered his Alma Mater in the right direction as President. During that time he was also on the Board of the Fulbright Commission in Sofia. President Kulinski earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Cody Hyman

Treasurer

Cody is a data-driven storyteller, communicating complicated firm, industry, and ESG trends simply and succinctly. Her professional strategy involves engaging stakeholders and SMEs, working across silos to identify collaborative initiatives. As a systems thinker, she applies critical thinking to both the big picture and the details to find ways to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. As a lifelong learner, Cody thrives in situations with growth potential. She is comfortable with public speaking and has presented before regulators, academics, trade unions, and corporate board members at top Accounting and ESG conferences. Cody is passionate about financial literacy and role of technology and human/social capital in generating impact and growth.

Kenneth Ward

Board Member

Kenneth Ward is the Executive Director of College Bound, Inc. in Washington, D.C. As a Fulbright Memorial scholar in Japan and a seasoned D.C. educator and administrator for 15 years, he has been instrumental in creating academic and personal enrichment programs for students, such as the Young Ambassadors program. He has participated in the International Teacher Exchange program where he studied best practices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia and has also volunteered in Ethiopia. Mr. Ward holds a Bachelor's degree in communications from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he matriculated on a Pogue Scholarship and a Master’s degree in education from Trinity. Mr. Ward participated in the Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program at Georgetown and was bestowed the 2012 Harvey Elliott Beech Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of North Carolina for his outstanding personal achievements. He serves on the Advisory Board at UNC for the Learning and Writing Center and the Friends of the Library. He is an active member of the Perry Community Center Services Center and Achievement Prep boards.

Mitch Pinkowski

Corporate Secretary

S. Mitchell Pinkowski is a devoted educator with a distinguished academic career, and a founding faculty member at NewU University. He attended Deerfield Academy and earned honors degrees from Emory University (B. A.) and St. John’s College’s Graduate Institute (M.A.). He now serves on the English faculty at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, teaching college writing, rhetoric, and literature. Mitch built his career teaching in college prep schools in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, and as an Academic Director to the Great Books summer programs at Amherst and Haverford Colleges. He served as an English Department Head for 10 years, a teacher of AP Literature for 15 years, and held various positions as both a mentor of newer faculty and as a pioneer of new educational trends. He has spoken to national and regional audiences on “How to Revolutionize the English Classroom” and has a lengthy professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion work, to experiential education, and to engagement in the local community. As a global citizen, Mitch has lived and taught in Japan, lived for five years in Saudi Arabia as a youth, and has traveled to more than 30 countries and all 50 of the United States.

ABOUT

Welcome to the Future of College

Who We Are

Mission and Vision

NewU is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit

We are a team of educators and entrepreneurs with a vision

We are the first private nonprofit undergraduate university to call washington dc home in over 100 years

Accreditation and Licensure

NewU Credits Are Transferrable To and From Accredited Universities

Partners and Supporters

Board of Directors

Milestones

Idea Inception

Concept Validation, Strategy and Planning, Founding Partners

Incorporation, 501(c)(3) Status, Team

Academic Programs and Policies Design

Licensure, Go-to-Market, IT Systems

Campus and First Class of Students

Second Cohort of Students

Scale Up Phase

Spring 2025 classes start in:

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Additional Info

Contact

Media and Business

Download the NewU University Flyer

Download the Student Catalog

Download the NewU University Presentation

Nominate Prospective Student

Financial Aid Form - Admitted Students Only

Apply Now to NewU University