nikki massaro kauffman & failure is part of growth

This week on the show, Lougan chats with front-end web developer Nikki Massaro Kauffman. She develops open source web components to make Penn State University’s online courses accessible, media rich, and interactive. Nikki has always been passionate about teaching, and she translates that love into mentoring. Lougan and Nikki talk about the importance of mentorship, making mistakes and failure.

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rj thompson & the politics of tenure

Headshot of RJ Thompson on a grey backgroundThis week on the show, we sat down with RJ Thompson, the associate director of student engagement in the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburg. RJ’s career in higher education has been in an interesting one. He’s always had a passion for teaching students, and has worked as a both an adjunct and a tenured professor. We talk about RJ’s long career as a professor and why he decided to move from faculty to staff. We also chat about Star Trek: Picard, but no worries. We don’t talk spoilers. 

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jenna spinelle & the frozen fountain

Jenna Spinelle is the communications specialist for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. She describes herself as a team of one, where she handles digital content and media outreach. She is also host of the Institute’s Democracy Works podcast which is produced in partnership with WPSU Penn State, Pennsylvania’s NPR station. Lougan and Jenna have a great chat about working her work hosting Democracy Works, podcasting and listening to audio books. Also, apologies for Lougan’s audio quality. We’ve had some issues with his microphone and are working to fix it. 

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brendan foley & this is 2020

This week, Lougan talks with Brendan Foley, the director of communications for the Morehead-Cain Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brendan is responsible for creating and implementing a content strategy that supports Morehead-Cain’s many goals. Whether it’s recruiting the brightest students across the globe or inspiring alumni to participate in the Foundation’s first-ever capital campaign, Brendan creates content that encompasses every aspect of student and alumni journeys.

On the show, we discuss Brendan’s work and how he made the jump from award-winning broadcast news producer and journalist to higher education. Brendan’s wife Jenna Hartwell is also an Higher Ed Social alum! Check out Jenna’s episode from October 2018!

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jason miller & the groundhog

Jason Miller is the digital specialist at York University in Toronto, Canada. As part of the central communications office, Jason’s has his hands in a lot of digital work, but his primary job is to develop the university-wide social media strategy and assist various areas across campus with their digital strategies. Lougan and Jason talk about the quirks of being in charge of social media, and why we love doing what we do. We also talk about the fun little things he does outside his role, and how doing those types of things are important.

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eric stoller & the lunch episode

Photo of Eric StollerEric Stoller is the vice president of digital strategy at GeckoEngage. You may know him from his articles on Inside Higher Ed, his speaking engagements and his consulting work around digital engagement. He’s always loved doing marketing and public relations, but never wanted to work for an agency. Eric’s experiences in student development services at University of Illinois Chicago and enrollment management at Oregon State University really cemented interest in the intersection of technology and student success. He’s had an incredible and unique journey through the world of higher education. 

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