About

Welcome to a New Breed of University. Welcome to NewU.

Higher Education is in crisis. And students and parents suffer the most because of expensive tuition, low graduation rates, and student loans that haunt them for life.

Many talk about Higher Education reform, but actual innovation and compassion for the people paying the price is woefully lacking.

At NewU, we believe in leadership by example.  So instead of talking, we got to work.  We built NewU from the ground up. We included everything that works well for students and parents, and threw away everything that doesn’t.

The results is an affordable, high quality, stress-free new breed of university.  We give you NewU.

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Who We Are

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 are on a mission to solve some of the pressing challenges facing Higher Education to alleviate student debt burdens, improve graduation and job placement rates and student wellbeing,  reduce underemployment of graduates, and improve on both operating and academic models in use today through our creativity and innovation.

Our vision is that in the next 10 years leading universities around the world will adopt our innovations and model to transform the Higher Education sector for the benefit of students and society.

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 on 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 3 years, which culminate in this rare and bold opportunity to do good for the DC community, for the country, and for the world.

We invite you to join us

We welcome your constructive feedback, new ideas for us to consider, and as a 501(c)(3) educational public charity nonprofit, your tax-deductible in-kind support, gifts, and grants. Join us on our quest to empower and benefit students, parents, and society today and in the future.

We are nonprofit
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Partners and Supporters

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Governance

Like all responsible nonprofits, NewU has a Board of Directors with the typical roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit governing body. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the governing body, officers, and the president are governed by the NewU Bylaws. At NewU we believe in the principles of shared governance, and welcome input from all key stakeholders, especially students. We encourage student, faculty, and staff participation in Board meetings which are typically open to all members of our community.

Mr. Stratsi Kulinski, founder, President & CEO, and member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Kulinski holds a BA from the American University in Bulgaria, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Alicia Margoles, Corporate Secretary and member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Margoles holds a BA in Business Administration with a major in Sales & Marketing from the University of Georgia, where she was captain of the Women’s Soccer Team. Since then, Alicia also successfully completed a number of top-ranked executive education programs including an Executive Development Program of The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania, an Executive Leadership Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and an Executive Development Program at Harvard University.

Ms. Sevda Yontcheva-Kumitski, COO and member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Yontcheva-Kumitski holds a BA from the American University in Bulgaria, an MA from the University of National and World Economy, and an MA from Sofia University.

Ms. Viktoriya Zotova, Treasurer & CFO. Ms. Zotova holds a summa cum laude BA from the St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, and is a MLA candidate (expected May 2021) at Harvard University Extension School, as well as a PhD candidate (expected May 2021) at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. She is also an instructor of accounting at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Milestones

1991 - 2017

Idea Inception

As a first-generation college student, our founder embodies the promise of opportunity through education.  His belief that education enriches and empowers lives is the product of his own story, and constitutes a central tenet in his life philosophy. 

As an immigrant to the United States, Stratsi – as he is known to friends and colleagues – credits his professional and personal growth mostly to his years at the American University in Bulgaria, initially funded by the United States Congress through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and US and European philanthropists.  A member of the very first class of students, Stratsi’s choice of an unproven brand new university seemed risky, and came with financial burdens for his family at the time.  But his undergraduate experience was transformative. He went on to graduate, worked across different industries from Radio Broadcasting to Satellite Telecom to Software on several continents and in DC and Silicon Valley, earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and even served as President and Board Member of  that university where it all started.

These diverse life experiences made possible by a new and unproven university 30 years ago, and the motivation to pay it forward, inspired the very creation of NewU.  We hope, in turn, it empowers young people to invest in a life of resilience, pursuit of lifelong learning, and success here at NewU in our nation’s capital.

1991 - 2017

March 2018

The Proverbial Napkin

The very first NewU written concept gets commemorated on a piece of paper napkin.  A museum-worthy artefact.

March 2018

2018

Concept Validation, Branding

NewU’s first roadshow takes place, where our concept for an innovative and bold new university gets shared with leaders from academia, government, philanthropists, regulators, and of course, students and parents. Everyone wants to be a college student again when NewU launches. 

Our logo, colors, taglines, social media accounts, and website are created.

2018

December 2018

First Strategic Parnerships

NewU signs agreements with one of the preeminent law firms in the US, Holland & Knight LLP,  and with real-estate leader CBRE Inc. 

December 2018

2019

Legal, Tax, Governance, and IT Infrastructure

NewU is incorporated in Washington DC. 

The IRS approves our 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt status.

The NewU Board of Directors holds its first meeting.

The US Patent and Trademark Office approves the trademark applications for our name and logo.

Oracle and Salesforce join the list of NewU strategic partners.

2019

2020

Executive Team and Program Development

NewU completes the executive team.  It brings together many people with a true passion for education, many of them first-generation college graduates, now with doctoral and master’s degrees and professional success stories on their resumes.

The team bands together, prepares an extensive application for licensing, develops the academic programs, and puts together the marketing and recruiting strategy.

NewU not only survives the COVID-19 pandemic, but thrives.

2020

2021

Licensure and Go-to-Market

NewU is licensed  to operate by the DC Higher Education Licensure Commission in a unanimous decision of the 5 Commissioners in testament to our innovative and high quality education and operating model and programs.

We launch our first marketing and recruitment campaign for the very first class of students, and prepare to start in-person classes for Fall 2021.

2021
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