Smarter Campus Podcast

In this deeply personal episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with his sister, Mia Kinzler, a sophomore studying Psychology at Loyola Marymount University, to talk about an experience that is often discussed about students but rarely heard directly from them: what it actually feels like to navigate higher education with severe learning disabilities. Mia was diagnosed in fourth gra...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Elijah Craft, a Computer Science and Psychology student at Furman University and Student Fellow for Emerging Technologies, to hear what the AI conversation actually looks like from the student perspective. Elijah describes an interesting “convenience paradox” emerging among students. While some enthusiastically embrace AI and othe...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with John Hillsman, Founder and Partner at Access Alliance for Education, to look at today’s AI transformation through the lens of nearly 40 years of change in education and technology. John has watched higher education navigate everything from VHS and closed-circuit television to the internet, online learning, and digital homework pla...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Lissa Frésquez, Director of Technology Innovation on the Learning Team at EdPlus at Arizona State University, to explore what it actually takes to evaluate, test, and scale emerging technology across a massive online learning ecosystem. Lissa shares how her team manages dozens of EdTech partners while supporting nearly 119,000 onl...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with a leader from Pikes Peak State College to talk about what it actually looks like to move from experimenting with AI to making it available across an entire institution. Pikes Peak initially began with a small pilot group evaluating different tools and approaches. But when the team brought a limited rollout proposal to college lead...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Kevin Anselmo, strategic communications consultant and founder of Experiential Communications, to explore an overlooked side of the AI conversation in higher education: communication and research impact. While much of higher education’s AI conversation has focused on cheating, grading, and classroom policies, Kevin argues there is...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dave McCool, President & CEO of Muzzy Lane, to explore how AI can help higher education move beyond traditional assignments and create more experiential, authentic learning. Dave argues that some of the most promising uses of AI aren’t about inventing entirely new approaches to education. Instead, AI can make proven methods—si...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Chad Okrusch, a tenured Professor of Philosophy and Communication and Montana Tech’s first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer—the first role of its kind within the Montana University System. Chad brings an unusually human perspective to AI leadership. With roots in IT and more than two decades of work across philosophy, eth...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Cleotilde “Coty” Gonzalez, Research Professor of Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, founding director of the Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory, and Research Co-Director of the NSF National AI Institute for Societal Decision Making. Drawing on more than two decades of work across cognitive science, decision-makin...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Jason Bock, Director of Online Education at the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University, instructional designer, learning engineer, and AI EdTech founder. Jason brings a fascinating perspective to the AI conversation by connecting it to higher education’s previous shift toward online learning. While COV...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Matthew Rascoff, Vice Provost for Digital Education at Stanford University, lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and education advisor to Anthropic. With a rare vantage point spanning both a leading university and one of the world’s frontier AI labs, Matthew brings a uniquely informed perspective on what AI can—an...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Corbin Winward, a 3L at Baylor University School of Law and President of the Baylor Plaintiff’s Law Association, to explore how the next generation of lawyers is navigating AI in real time. Corbin offers a student perspective on one of the biggest tensions facing legal education: students need to understand how to use AI, but they...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Sarah Lanier, a trial attorney at the Lanier Law Firm, to explore how artificial intelligence is changing legal research, trial preparation, professional judgment, and the skills young lawyers will need moving forward. Sarah shares how she has used AI in surprisingly practical ways—from simulating jury selection to accelerating ma...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with John Strong, a full professor in the SUNY system, coordinator of the Personal Training Certificate program, and a nationally recognized expert in health, fitness, and physical education. John challenges the idea that younger generations are automatically better with technology simply because they grew up surrounded by it. Instead,...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Paul LeBlanc, former president of Southern New Hampshire University and current visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, for a conversation about what higher education must become—not just what it must improve—as AI reshapes the future. Drawing on decades of leadership and his work alongside disruptive inn...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Forrest Close, data scientist and recent University of New Hampshire graduate, to explore what it’s really like entering the workforce in the age of AI. From navigating college during the rise of generative AI to competing in today’s challenging job market, Forrest offers an honest perspective from the student side of this technol...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Kevin Stump, Chief Program Officer at the Education Design Lab, to explore how higher education can better prepare learners for a rapidly evolving workforce shaped by AI and emerging technologies. Kevin shares why the conversation can no longer be limited to degrees alone. Instead, he advocates for a future built around stackable...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Nancy Richmond, professor at Florida International University, co-chair of the College of Business AI Teaching Forum, author, and speaker, for a conversation about one of the most important questions facing education today: how do we embrace AI while preserving what makes us human? Drawing from her background in digital market...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Sunaina Sharma, Assistant Professor at Brock University and longtime English educator, to explore one of the most pressing questions facing schools today: What happens when educators feel caught between the promise of AI and the realities of classroom life? Drawing on more than two decades of experience and recent research inv...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Maritza Concha and Ketty Dones from the University of Central Florida’s Applied AI Innovation Initiative to explore how artificial intelligence is empowering students, nonprofits, and professionals who don’t come from technical backgrounds. The conversation highlights a powerful shift happening across higher education: AI is n...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Brett Hinson, Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Lipscomb University, to discuss what it takes to lead technology transformation in higher education. With decades of experience across multiple industries, Brett brings a practical and refreshing perspective on balancing innovation, security, a...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Tawnya Means, founding partner of Inspire Higher Ed, for a conversation about one of the biggest shifts happening across campuses: moving from talking about AI to actually using it. As institutions navigate uncertainty, Tawnya offers a practical and human-centered perspective on what meaningful adoption really looks like. The disc...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Daniel R. Kazakos—US Army veteran, strategist, system thinker, and CEO—to explore how AI is reshaping workforce development and changing the way we think about human value in an AI-driven world. Daniel argues that AI is no longer just another productivity tool. Instead, he frames it as a skill—one that requires continuous practice...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Dr. Marina Aminy, Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of the California Virtual Campus, to explore how AI and system-level thinking can expand access and improve outcomes for millions of students. At the heart of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea: keep the student as the “north star.” Marina shares how th...

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast , Zach sits down with Adam Davis, Senior Director of Global Career Services at the American College of Financial Services, to explore how AI is reshaping the connection between education and the workforce. As career services evolves, Adam offers a clear perspective on how institutions can better prepare students for a rapidly changing professional land...