higher ed social

a podcast for higher education
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About the Show

Hosted by Lougan Bishop and Jenna Spinelle, Higher Ed Social is a bi-weekly podcast dedicated to those that work in higher education. In each episode, we dive into the lives and careers of people who help make colleges and universities work. So sit back, relax and get ready for some fun conversation.

Higher Ed Social was created by Jackie Vetrano and Lougan Bishop and is part of the ConnectEDU network, the first podcast network for higher education, which brings together brilliant minds in the higher ed space and breaks down silos.

Latest Episode

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) serves more than high school and college counselors who help students and families navigate the admissions process.

Shanda Ivory, NACAC’s director of communications, joins us this week to discuss how the pandemic might permanently change college recruiting. Will the days of college fairs in convention centers with thousands of students ever come back? Is it such a bad thing if they don’t?

We explore those questions and talk about how admissions professionals can strike a balance between not getting stuck and the status quo and not going after every new trend that comes along.

Recent Episodes

shanda ivory & the best acronym in higher ed

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) serves more than high school and college counselors who help students and families navigate the admissions process. Shanda Ivory, NACAC’s director of communications, joins us this week to discuss how...

morgan campbell & the joy of tiktok

Morgan Campbell is only a few years out of college but already making a name for herself as a pioneer of TikTok in higher ed. She joins us this week to talk about how she built a successful presence for Indiana University and how her team plans to build on that strategy by expanding the use of vertical video on Instagram Reels and other platforms this year. We also talk about how TikTok seemed like a breath of fresh air during the pandemic at a time when it’s easy to fall victim to doom scrolling on other social media platforms.

Morgan is a social media specialist at Indiana University Bloomington. Her work has been featured on Sprout Social and on Josie Ahlquist’s blog, just to name a few! Although she’s made her name in the higher ed world on TikTok, she finds herself gravitating toward another platform outside of work. Tune in to find out what it is!

jackie vetrano & our 200th episode!

Higher Ed Social founder and co-host emerita Jackie Vetrano joins Lougan and Jenna to celebrate 200 episodes. We talk about returning to work on campus, returning to pre-pandemic activities, and the media empire Jackie’s building through her podcast and Twitch streams...

bill zimmerman & looking on the bright side

Bill Zimmerman, an instructor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State and host of the Happy Valley Hustle podcast, returns to the show to discuss his experience with a year of remote learning and how he hopes education will look different...

mordecai ian brownlee & creating safe spaces

Anyone who works in communications knows that it’s easy for productive conversions to turn dark and hurtful, particularly when it comes to issues like race and identity. Dr. Mordecai Ian Brownlee leans into the difficult parts of these conversations in his work as a leader, teacher, mentor, speaker, and more. He joins us this week to discuss the need for spaces where we can freely share our own experiences and learn from the experiences of others. We also talk about how to set a positive example on social media and use it to lift people up, rather than get dragged into the latest conflict of the day.
Mordecai currently serves as the Vice President for Student Success at St. Philip’s College. Effective July 15, 2021, he will serve as the sixth President of the Community College of Aurora within the Colorado Community College System. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Morgan State University School of Education & Urban Studies and the University of Charleston School of Business and Leadership, as well as a higher education columnist for EdSurge.
His mission as an educator is to work collectively with all stakeholders to create a safe and equitable learning environment that promotes student inclusion, student engagement, and student success. That mission comes through loud and clear in this conversation.