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

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

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

Leigh Hall is a professor and the Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chair in Literacy Education at the University of Wyoming. While studying at the University of South Florida, she realized she wanted to be a teacher and create a better environment for future students. She got her master’s at Vanderbilt University then taught social studies for 6 years in Houston before getting her Ph. D at Michigan State University. Her research on literacy at the University of Wyoming aims to help elementary and middle school teachers around the state.
Links to cool stuff:

• Leigh on LinkedIn
• UW Literacy Research Center

Darren Stocker is an associate professor and program director at Cape Cod Community College in Massachusetts where he works with students who want to get into the field of criminal justice. After retiring from 20 years in law enforcement, Darren got into higher education. While in graduate school, it became clear to him that education was his next career move. Darren has done extensive work with learning management systems, and he talks with Lougan and Jackie about the pros and cons of discussion boards in an online classroom.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Darren on LinkedIn
• Cape Cod Community College