What is most striking about the efforts of colleges and universities to recover from the repercussions of the global financial crisis is the extent to which many are determined to frame the moment as an opportunity. Much of the discourse surrounding the response of academic institutions to the recession, however, has been couched in the context of using this "opportunity" either to emerge as more efficient or to restore "normalcy." The author argues that more than just a restoration of "normalcy" is required on college campuses in the wake of the recent global economic crisis. Just as universities seek to expand knowledge and innovation on the academic side of the enterprise, it also is imperative that they seek comparable innovation in their own academic structures, practices, and operations. The author suggests that universities and colleges should seek to establish "institutional cultures of innovation". To achieve the ambitious objectives for educational attainment set by the Obama administration, the author contends that Americans must first build a higher-education infrastructure commensurate to the task. Colleges and universities need a new set of assumptions that encourage institutions to innovate and differentiate and become useful to their local communities, while at the same time seeking solutions to global challenges. As president of Arizona State University, the author describes how he has guided the task of pioneering the foundational model for the "New American University" and provides a summary of selected aspects of the reconceptualization of ASU.