From Culture Reset to Global Impact: Wilson College of Textiles Five Years Later
When the Wilson College of Textiles first engaged Tidal Equality in 2019, they were stuck. Culture challenges were stifling collaboration, strategy felt fragmented, and their people were frustrated by systemic inequities and a lack of shared purpose. We challenged them to hit pause, listen deeply, and co-design their way forward. Together, through our Wave® process, they built a renewed Strategic Plan and Culture Charter that put common cause and equity at the center of their future.
By 2020, the results were undeniable. Employee engagement participation jumped from 11th to 2nd in the institution, with the highest gains across fairness, communication, collaboration, and respect. The shift wasn’t cosmetic — it was structural, lived, and already transforming how the college operated.
Fast forward to 2025, and the long-term payoff of that reset is clear. The Wilson College of Textiles has become a resilient, future-facing powerhouse — a place where culture and strategy aren’t just words on paper, but the foundation for world-class impact.
Culture That Holds
92% faculty and staff retention in an era where higher ed is bleeding talent.
A Culture Charter that isn’t gathering dust — it’s alive in daily practice, from employee well-being initiatives to “Think and Brew” drop-ins that keep collaboration real.
97% student retention, proving that when people feel they belong, they stay and thrive.
Strategy That Pays Off
$10.8M raised in FY25, including a game-changing $10M gift that fully endowed all 40 Centennial scholarships.
95% of graduates employed or in further study within six months, with internships translating directly into jobs.
Breakthrough research: 136 publications, 12 patents, and a multimillion-dollar innovation pipeline with the Department of Defense and NSF.
A $7M Flex Factory under construction to fuel entrepreneurship and advanced manufacturing.
Reputation That Resonates
National spotlight on PBS Nova, in the New York Times, Nature, and Slate, and through a 362% leap in social media engagement.
A global reputation for driving innovation where it matters most: from firefighter safety to sustainable textiles to AI in fashion and manufacturing.
Read more details in their Annual Report
The Bottom Line
This is what happens when an institution stops papering over culture problems and starts doing the real work. Wilson College of Textiles is no longer just a 125-year-old leader in its field. It’s a living case of how a bold reset in culture and strategy creates the conditions for philanthropy, research, and global reputation to soar.
And they’re just getting started.
Afterword
Since 2019, Tidal has supported Wilson College of Textiles with a suite of capacity-building services we now bring to higher ed clients worldwide: the Wave® strategic planning process, a Culture Charter co-creation process, Equity Sequence® training, and 1:1 coaching and leadership capacity-building. Each intervention has layered strength into the institution’s culture, strategy, and ability to deliver on its global mission.
If your institution is still trying to patch cultural fractures with surface-level fixes, this retreat is for you. Designing a Resilient Academic Culture — happening this January — is for leaders who know higher ed can’t afford business as usual, and who are ready to design cultures and strategies that actually hold under pressure.