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 as schools fully come back in person this fall. He talks about how he managed — or sometimes didn’t manage — Zoom fatigue for his students and for himself and how the time in remote learning might strengthen the desire for in-person connections inside and outside the classroom.

Bill is an eternal optimist, and that sentiment really comes through in this conversation. We also talk about running and how it helps focus our minds that are constantly distracted by our inboxes and social media notifications. 

Links to cool stuff:

• Our first episode with Bill
• Happy Valley Hustle podcast
• Bill on Twitter

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

This 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. 

Links to cool stuff: 

• RJ’s Website
• RJ on Linkedin

Ashley Alvarado is a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina where she serves as a teaching assistant while obtaining her Ph. D in literature. Lougan and Ashley talk about how general education classes teach students to analyze and interpret information, as well as think critically. We also talk about Ashley’s plans for doctoral research, specifically diaries and their place in literature. 

Links to cool stuff

• Ashley on Linkedin
• Ashley on Twitter

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

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

Derryce Howzell is a professor of communications at the Art Institute of Las Vegas, Nevada College, and the Nevada Career Institute. Working in college admissions after receiving her bachelor’s degree is why Derryce fell in love with an academic environment. She was inspired to teach after she took an undergraduate class called Intercultural Communications. They talk about the struggles of not being on campus when you receive an online.

Links to cool stuff

• Derryce on LinkedIn
• Abandoned College Campuses on Second Life

Graham Carpenter is a professor at the University of Pacific. Carpenter earned his PhD from the University of Alabama in Communication and Information Sciences. He still works  as a freelance cameraman for ESPN Games and he started sports broadcasting at 18. College Football and American Ninja Warrior are the two things he mainly works on. Pacific Tiger Broadcasting Network is the radio station that Graham oversees. He believes working out in the field will help his students. He has been teaching since 2010 and he created a course called “Mediated Interpersonal Communication,” which is how media influences our relationships. He is continuing his research on dating apps.

Links to cool stuff

• Graham on Twitter
• Graham on LinkedIn
• Tiger Radio

This episode of Higher Ed Social was brought to you by Top Hat! Learn how their suite of easy-to-use apps can help you engage your class, adopt incredible next generation textbooks, or to run tests within a secure, digital environment. Visit tophat.com/higheredsocial to learn more. 

Aerial Ellis is a public relations consultant and professor at Lipscomb University in the Department of Communication and Journalism. Aerial is heavily involved with the Public Relations Society of America on a national and regional level, where she serves on the national diversity inclusion committee and the strategic planning committee and helps the student chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America Chapter at Lipscomb. Aerial followed her entrepreneurial spirit by starting a business at 22 after graduation. In her book, Original Millennial, she mentions about starting her own nail business as a 14-year-old. She believes that everyone should pace themselves while achieving their dreams.

Links to cool stuff

• Aerial on LinkedIn
• Aerial on Twitter
• Aerial on Instagram
• Aerial’s Website
• The Original Millennial

This episode of Higher Ed Social was brought to you by Top Hat! Learn how their suite of easy-to-use apps can help you engage your class, adopt incredible next generation textbooks, or to run tests within a secure, digital environment. Visit tophat.com/higheredsocial to learn more. 

Carla Swank Fox is an adjunct faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. She teaches in the College of Media and Entertainment in two different departments, Department of Media Arts and School of Journalism and Strategic Media. Her classes focus on writing as well as messaging for your audience. The team discusses the evolution of communication departments due to changes in the industry. She co-hosts The Carla and Crappy Show podcast, which will resume soon for college football season.

Links to cool stuff

• Carla on Twitter
• Carla on Instagram
• Carla on Linkedin
• The Carla & Crappy Show (YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Facebook, Twitter: #CnCShow)
• Craft Content Nashville

This episode of Higher Ed Social is sponsored by Happy Scribe, the ultimate, automatic, transcription tool. If you are currently working on making video and audio content more accessible or if you are pursuing qualitative research then Happy Scribe can help you. Get started for free at happyscribe.co.