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

Scott Silverman is the associate dean of the Emeritus Program for older adults at Santa Monica College. Silverman conducted research on the early days of social media, which initially started as free speech and the internet, but changed when his boss told him to shut down Facebook on his campus. Side projects are Scott’s middle name. He was a co-editor of the book “How to Survive your Freshman Year,” which was the Reader’s Choice in 2012 for the Best College Survival Guide. 

Links to cool stuff: 

• Scott of Twitter
• Scott on LinkedIn
• Scott on Facebook
• How to Survive Your Freshman Year (5th Edition)
• SMC Emeritus Program

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