There’s a big stir in central Maine this fall, and Dr. Melik Peter Khoury is in the middle of it. As President of Unity College, he recently announced a plan to move fully to distance and hybrid learning — a move that included layoffs and furloughs for dozens of faculty and staff and the potential sale of the physical campus.

Dr. Khoury describes these changes as not only essential to keeping the college open during COVID-19, but also as part of a bigger vision he has for what education should look like. He sees a world in which students can break free of the traditional campus model and get the information they need to solve society’s greatest problems right away, without waiting four years or more to graduate.

Sound ambitious? It is, but Khoury stands by it and joins us this week to discuss. You might not agree with everything he says about higher ed, but it’s hard to deny that he has a vision and is passionate about making it a reality.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Dr. Khoury on Twitter
• Dr. Khoury on LinkedIn
• Unity College

While a lot of colleges and universities talk about ending racism and inequality on their campuses, Carah Ong Whaley and her team at JMU dove headfirst into taking action. Carah is Associate Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, which has put together weekly virtual discussions on topics related to racism, policing, and more. She is also part of an effort to rename JMU buildings currently named for well-known racists in history. As you’ll hear, she’s active in both the #JMUchangethenames social media campaign and working behind the scenes with university leaders.

We recorded this episode on June 18. Stay tuned to the end of the show on what’s happened at JMU since then.

Links to cool stuff

• Carah on Twitter

• Carah on LinkedIn

• JMU Center for Civic Engagement

• Democracy Matters podcast

This week we discuss the barriers faced by low-income students with Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, president of the Amarillo College. In his time as president, he’s overseen significant increases in student retention and graduation rates while also working to make his institution an economic driver for the community and region. On the show, Dr. Lowery-Hart shares how Amarillo College made such radical change happen and the many opportunities for higher education to break tradition and adapt to a changing world.

Links to cool stuff:

• Dr. Lowery-Hart on Linkedin
• Dr. Lowery-Hart on Twitter
• Dr. Lowery-Hart’s profile in The Atlantic

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be university president? This week on the show, Lougan talks with Dr. Martha Saunders, President of the University of West Florida. In her more than three decades in higher education, Dr. Saunders has served in multiple academic and leadership roles and has led UWF a to new heights. Lougan chats with her about how she became a university president, her strategic vision and how the resources in west Florida helped drive the creation of new and innovative programs at UWF. 

Links to cool stuff: 

• Dr. Saunders on Twitter
• Dr. Saunders on LinkedIn
• UWF Innovation Institute
• UWF Center for Cyber Security
• UWF Sea3D Lab

Kevin Singer is a PhD student in higher education at North Carolina State University where he serves as a Research Associate for the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS). He also serves as Co-Director of Neighborly Faith, an org helping evangelical college students to build bridges of friendship with people of other faiths, and teaches world religions at two community colleges. IDEALS recently released a national report called “Friendships Matter” about befriending people across all faiths. Lougan and Kevin talk about consequences of online behavior as well as empathy in conversations one might disagree with. When he’s not in higher ed, he’s hanging out with his wife and their 4 kids.

Links to cool stuff

• Kevin on Twitter
• Kevin on Linkedin
• Kevin’s Website
• IDEALS Research

Eric 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. 

Links to cool stuff

• Eric on Twitter
• Eric on LinkedIn
• GeckoEngage

This week, Lougan chats with Dr. Toby Stapleton, the dean of graduate and continuing education programs at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. We chat about the rise of hybrid professional graduate programs and the many innovative programs at Salve Regina. At his previous institution, Toby lead a technology incubator which has become a global leader in marine (blue) technology. We also discuss his work there and the future of this growing field. 

Links to cool stuff: 

• Toby on LinkedIn
• Salve Regina’s Graduate Studies and Continuing Education
• UMass Dartmouth Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

This week, Dave Eng returns to the show! Since last we talked, Dave has finished his doctorate and serves as a clinical professor & educational technologist at New York University’s School of Professional Studies and a professor of practice of table top game design at Troy University. We chatted with Dave about his research into table top gaming, the future of voice technology and Lougan’s tendency to not throw away things. We also discuss escape rooms and the fundamental differences between puzzles and games.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Dave on Twitter
• Dave on LinkedIn
• Dave’s Website
• University XP
• Episode 69 of with Dave

Coby Dillard is the coordinator for veterans and military services at the University of California Santa Barbara. Coby began his career in the Navy as a yeoman, and after leaving the Navy, he decided to take advantage of his post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits at Tidewater Community College. There he began his career in higher ed as a work study student. Coby transitioned to UCSB last year, and has been working to rebuild their programs for student veterans. We had a great discussion about what makes student veterans special, and how he works to support their needs.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Coby on Linkedin
• Coby on Twitter

Steve Gavazzi is a professor of human development & family science at The Ohio State University. While Steve is a marriage and family research scientist by training, he’s also been interested in the mission of land-grant institutions. That interest led him to co-write the book Land-Grant Universities for the Future: Higher Education for the Public Good with E. Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia University. We chatted with Steve about the history of these institutions and their future. We also discuss college rankings and their historic impact on institutions of higher learning.

Links to cool stuff

• Steve on Twitter
• Steve on Linkedin
• Land-Grant Universities for the Future: Higher Education for the Public Good on Amazon
• Land-Grant Fierce Blog