Once Grand Canyon University was stabilized after two years of Monday through Friday commuting from San Diego to Phoenix to serve/help the super successful CEO be successful, Clifford recruited another superior management/investor team lead by William Glasgow from another industry to help fulfill his vision for yet another niche online school. This group created American Way Education (AWE) to search for a school to purchase. Clifford was enamored with the management team’s background in the cable industry whereby they purchased a cable system for $300MM and sold it for $4.2B 12 years later. Clifford viewed amazing parallels and similarities between the operations of a disparate group of cable operations and online education. The group reviewed 200 school acquisition opportunities, performed due diligence on 20, made offers on seven and acquired one small school that fit Clifford’s vision and strategy.
The strategy included a nationally accredited school with an emphasis on health care. This was a departure from the two previous regionally accredited schools Clifford helped create.
It has taken approximately two years and $7MM to acquire this unique platform school, rework all of the programming and staffing required for the online deployment, work through all the regulatory issues to convert the school to a pure online offering, but now LA College is ready for prime time. In the last few months it has been doubling enrollments consistently while implementing new degree programs which will result in a hockey stick increase in value over the next three years.
In mid 2008, after three years of persevering, Clifford won the bid for a university in a bankruptcy court. Myers University in Cleveland, Ohio, has a 160 year history rich with business titans as graduates including John D. Rockefeller, Harvey Firestone, Ernst from Ernst & Young, Briggs & Stratton, and Senator Metzenbaum. Clifford organized a group of education-savvy investors to acquire this HLC regionally accredited ground and online university offering AA’s, BA’s, and MBA’s. New academic quality controls have begun combined with the enrollment growth strategies.
As a result of Michael K. Clifford’s track record as the catalyst for four successful education companies with separate investor groups, separate management teams, and distinctly different niches, a small established partnership of very wealthy school owners has approached him to look for acquisitions in the market place. Thus, SignificantPartners LLC was created with Clifford a group of silent partners with the capacity to deploy $100MM a year for the acquisition of education properties. This particular group is extremely private so nothing can be said about the successful transactions taking place.
Because of the remarkable deal flow Michael K. Clifford seems to attract, there are many opportunities that do not fit this particular partnership’s criteria so Clifford is free to partner with high quality private equity and strategic investors on properties he can become passionate about especially in the area of global online education.
Initial plans have begun to form a boutique co-investment pledge fund for opportunistic investments in education related companies with a special focus on distressed or quasi-start-up companies.
Michael lives in San Diego enjoying his wife and four children, sailing, fishing, beach walking, biblical studies, family adventures, and story telling. He serves on the Founding Board of the Dream Center. He has lead charity fund raising teams resulting in excess of $400MM. A political junkie always currently involved, he was featured on the front page in 1986 of the Wall Street Journal as the highest paid political consultant in America. He plays the trumpet (www.marcinkiewicz.com). He produced the award winning documentary D.O.P.E. funded by a charity he founded: Boat Angel. Michael never attended college, owns several as a passionate believer in education, has several Honorary Doctorates, doesn't like ties and can't sit still. His life goal is to a philanthropist.
