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.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Mordecai’s website
• Mordecai on Twitter

Many of our organizations have spent the past year working on ways to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion on our campuses. However, that work sometimes stalls out before it even gets going because it’s such a big task that it’s hard to know where to start or how to keep the momentum going. That’s where Dar Mayweather shines. 

Dar is the founder of Good Mayweather Consulting, where he helps his clients confidently engage in critical conversations around diversity and inclusion.He has more than 15 years of professional leadership experience in higher education, business, and diversity & inclusion training. His professional journey began in the corporate world, then he moved to mental health, and now calls higher ed home. He believes in fast tracking his client’s learning by utilizing research and lived experiences to develop actionable solutions. 

Lougan and Jenna talk with Dar about what these high-level concepts look like at a granular level — everything from time blocking and task prioritization to starting difficult conversations and resisting the pressure for quick, superficial change rather than something more meaningful. The tips Dar shares are important not just for DEI work, but for managing workloads and dealing with burnout in general.

Dar is a first-generation college student. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice, a Master of Science in Education and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership while teaching Leadership to undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Links to cool stuff:

• Dar’s website: doingthegoodwork.com
• Dar on Twitter
• Dar on Instagram
• Dar on LinkedIn

We’re a year into the pandemic, and many of us are getting ready for commencement and everything that the end of the school year brings. Anyone feeling a little (or maybe a lot) of burnout? Ken Schneck has been there and joins us this week to share his journey from student affairs professional to an administrator in his mid-20s to a tenured faculty member and published author.

Ken found himself burned out at age 35 and spoke up about what he was experiencing. The message resonated more than he ever thought it would and became the catalyst for launching his speaking and writing career. In this episode, Ken talks with us about that journey and the advice he now gives to his students in the Leadership in Higher Education program at Baldwin Wallace University.

Ken also talks with Lougan and Jenna about how escaping the grind of administrative work allowed him to pursue a writing career and tell the stories of Ohio’s LGBTQ communities.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Ken’s website
• Ken on Twitter
• Ken on LinkedIn
• Ken’s HuffPost article “Student Affairs Administrators Get Suicidal Too”
• Baldwin Wallace University Leadership in Higher Education
• Download the episode transcript

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

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

Michael Lemus is a program coordinator at The Serna Center at California State University – Sacramento, which focuses on leadership and empowerment of underrepresented students. Prior to his new role, Michael was an academic advisor. Michael wants to remind his student workers that staff members are still learning too. He doesn’t believe in resolutions, he believes in intentions.

Disclaimer: Michael’s social media and opinions on this episode are his own and do not represent his employer. 

Links to cool stuff

• Michael on Twitter
• Michael on IG
• Michael in LinkedIn
• Michaels blog on Facebook 

This week on the show, Lougan and Jackie are joined by Higher Ed Social alums Liz Gross from Campus Sonar, Jon-Stephen Stansel from University of Central Arkansas and Jeff Stevens from University of Florida Health. We also welcomed Andrew Cassel from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. We sat down at Sacrament Brewing in Sacramento, California to have a great discussion about the 2018 Higher Education Web Professionals Conference. There were a lot of great takeaways, so take a listen!

Links to cool stuff

• Liz on Twitter (Episode 93)
• Jon-Stephen on Twitter (Episode 26, Episode 67)
• Jeff on Twitter (Episode 19, #heweb15 Episode)
• Andrew on Twitter
• 2018 HighEdWeb Conference
• Higher Education Web Professionals Association (become a member, it’s free!)

Jenna Hartwell works at North Carolina State University as the associate director for the Women and Minority Engineering programs in the College of Engineering. Women in Engineering program created a tool workshop for freshman students to learn the tools in engineering to help prepare them for a competition. Another initiative the program has is Dinner in Dialogue that connects students with professionals in engineering. Jenna implemented an intervention based program to help juniors going into their senior year called “The Almost Adulting Symposium,” which educates students on loans, budgeting, graduate school, and developing a reputation.

Links to cool stuff

• Jenna on Twitter
• Jenna on Linkedin
• NC State Women and Minority Engineering Programs

It was great having the insightful Kristen Lemaster on the show this week! She works at Vanderbilt University as the program coordinator in the Office of Inclusion Initiatives and Cultural Competence. Kristen works to facilitate trainings on diversity across the campus and works to advise and support the Vanderbilt Association of Hispanic Students and the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Chinese Association. On the show, we talk about the important work she does and the importance of personal relationships and partnerships across the institution. 

Links to cool stuff: 

• Kristen on Twitter
• Kristen on LinkedIn
• Kristen on Instagram