Campus Confidential

In this farewell episode, Kelsey and Loren are joined by Corey (and Violet!) to talk about funny moments, memorable episodes, surprising personality traits, what they’ve learned, how they’ve changed and what they’re up to next.  Also, Corey gives Kelsey and Loren their “Podcast Performance Review” and we do that most Midwest of things – “stand in the foyer” too long to avoid saying goodbye.  Liste...

For our final episode WITH guests (just Kelsey and Loren in the next episode!), we invited the most-listened-to guests to share perspectives three years after they first joined us. Drs. Felicia Lee , Kim Harrington and TJ Logan help us learn to accept the challenge of change, show why you should give yourself permission to be a beginner, explain the importance of “social prescriptions” and let you...

Kelsey and Loren welcome three longtime listeners who reflect on their favorite episodes, moments and learnings. Dr. Ben Perlman , Lillian DeLisle Stott and Ryan Greene join us to talk about loading docks, love, optimism, fear and transitions. We also decide which award categories this podcast could compete in, hear Ben’s weird commencement day story and learn about Lillian’s and Kelsey’s most mem...

Welcome to the final season! (Go ahead, we’ll wait while you grab a tissue.) In this episode, Kelsey and Loren describe the new “chapters” in their lives and how they decided to sunset what became five seasons of learning, leadership and laughter. We don’t like goodbyes (Kelsey is still standing in the foyer!),f so we’ll stretch this thing out – listen in to hear about the final episodes we have c...

We wrap up the semester with a person who has seen it all from behind closed doors: Mark Hall, President of Spelman Johnson . Listen to an "insider" describe how to evaluate a new job, why presentations should be eliminated from search processes, what university executives want from leaders and what we labeled the “three Ts” to leading in an uncertain environment. Stay tuned for the Extr...

Right now, higher ed just feels ... so ... “wobbly!” Kelli Shomaker, Sr. VP and CFO at Auburn University , explains why it’s important to never turn down an opportunity, to always have the courage to ask for what you need, how to evaluate whether the next career move is right for you and why you might want to pick up golf. Stay for Extra Credit if you want to hear about your hosts’ (horrible!) gol...

What can anarchism teach us about employee engagement, inclusive management and workplace dignity? Turns out, quite a bit! Ari Weinzweig , Co-Founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses and a self-proclaimed “lapsed anarchist,” explains how business publications borrow from this thinking, how to paradoxically replicate uniqueness, why hope is not a strategy, and why “leaning into difficulty” is...

Welcome to “opposite day” with Dr. Mary Spellman, Executive Director of the Fletcher Jones Foundation! In this fun episode, Mary explains why, in hard times, being a rule follower requires courage, the importance of doing the work and not just quieting the noise, that you can survive the difficult decisions, and why “getting back on the horse” is essential to leadership. In the spirit of opposite...

Dr. Victor Boschini, Chancellor Emeritus of Texas Christian University , is the perfect guest to launch Season 5. Our theme this season is “This Moment, This Leader” and acknowledges higher education tumult. Dr. Boschini describes how two jobs taught him everything he needed to know, how leadership is more like water than cement, why 70% of the information you want is sufficient for decision-makin...

The last day of Summer Camp has arrived. In our final conversation, we realize that while we’re wishing for easier days, we are in the role we were called to fulfill. Campus leaders get few easy decisions, looking too far down the road causes us to miss the good right in front of us, and inventorying what we CAN do helps with what we can’t do. So, take the vacation, enjoy the ride and know you are...

It was bound to happen, and one of us brought up PARENTS! Listen to the latest episode of the Summer Camp series as we chat about how to include parents ... but with boundaries, whether our childhoods were different than today’s generation, and how focusing on the “9” frees us from the “math” (you’ll just have to listen). Hang with us until the end to hear how Loren responded when his daughter tol...

This. Is. A. Hard. Time! In the second episode of our Summer Camp series, we talked about whether we feel like we’re doing enough or feeling helpless, where to look to stay positive, how life’s rituals can reinforce a positive mindset, and how to avoid getting distracted by stuff that doesn’t matter, because it’s unlikely we’re going back to some halcyon time. (Bonus: Kelsey tries out urban dictio...

The year was long, commencement is over and we’re chillin’ by the lake (OK, imagine a lake!). In this Summer Camp mini-series, Kelsey and Loren are not hosting so much as hanging out with Jeremiah Shinn , Gheretta Harris and Pam Watts for a freewheeling conversation about how we are coping and how to stay positive amidst so much (uninvited) change. Part I re-introduces the “campers,” reveals every...

In this season’s last episode, we hear from UC Santa Cruz Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Success Dr. Akirah Bradly-Armstrong , Semester At Sea President & CEO Dr. Scott Marshall , and former Vice President of Student Affairs and Advancement at Westminster University and University of Alberta - St. Joseph's College Mark Ferne. This podcast party discusses how global experience teac...

What can a paper route and commercial fishing teach us about leadership? Listen in as Solly Fulp, Learfield Executive Vice President, shares authentically personal stories about his upbringing in Alaska, why real leaders ask for help, what happens when your identity is tied to a career and how serving others is like living in the Matrix! Stay with us for the Extra Credit to hear moments when Kelse...

Inspired by graduation season reflections (and maybe an episode of “Where Are They Now” reality TV!), we thought we’d gift you with the re-release of this 2023 episode of pure joy: student government presidents talking about what the college experience and your leadership means to them. We also give a little update on where Julia and Emmie are now. Your leadership matters! Listen in as Student Gov...

We know leading is hard ... and getting harder! In this episode, Lora Strigens, Marquette University Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management , explains how to find common goals despite campus politics, how leading through crises requires taking care of yourself, and how both fear and optimism can simultaneously be true and must honestly be acknowledged. For a transparent “behind the...

You probably aren’t leading 40,000 people, but this episode’s guest is! Eva Wojtalewski, CEO of Chartwells Higher Ed , helps us find the courage to follow our convictions, tells us how she leads distributed teams, and explains how “starting at the dock” can help you better understand an organization and its culture. Stick around for Extra Credit to hear what Kelsey and Loren think about their curr...

Leaders coach, teach and set the vision. Who better to help explain these roles than two-time national coach of the year Pete Shinnick of Towson University. Join us as we hear what he believes are the five levels of leadership, what to do if your “players” aren’t performing, what to look for when hiring and how to evaluate new job opportunities. Stay for “overtime” (Extra Credit) to hear what team...

What’s the No. 1 thing leaders forget to do? Robin Hungerford, Webb Design Director of Planning, lets us in on that secret. She also shares where to look for career validation, why your personal brand matters, how to give and receive feedback, and why some stuff is better left behind when changing jobs. Tune in to hear what career Loren’s mom recommended for him, and why Corey is now asking the qu...

And, while you’re at it, do less (but better), start with maybe, and try a little kindness! Dr. Jeremiah Shinn , Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs at Boise State University, breaks down essential leadership lessons, reminds us to notice “overwhelming contentment,” and suggests a better way to hire. Listen in to hear what his grandpa taught him – and what’s on Kelsey’s an...

To start the new year, we are joined by Dr. Jeremy Schenk , Associate Vice President at Northwestern University. He shares deeply personal stories of leadership and life, and talks about how he learns from his failures, overcomes imposter syndrome, and builds trust in an organization. Not bad for a former “milk boy” (you’ll just have to listen)! Stay for Extra Credit to hear about Kelsey’s childho...

Although not our usual format, we said “yes” when conference organizers asked us to talk with sustainability leaders participating in the NACAS Climate Action Lab . Its focus was the food system, and guests from the CDC, Good Food Institute and elsewhere help us think about the social responsibility campuses have with the waste stream, water and energy use, food insecurity, and student demands for...

Put a bow on it, because Season 3 is complete! In this end-of year episode, Kelsey and Loren reflect on the most memorable things they learned from this season’s guests and discuss the similarities across all three seasons (40 episodes!). If you are planning a holiday road trip, you’ll want to stay tuned for the Extra Credit when Corey introduces Kelsey and Loren to a legendary Southern staple! Ha...

Speaking truth to power is unavoidable in leadership so ... we talk about it again! Dr. Mary Jo Callan , Brown University Vice President for Community Engagement, describes a time she challenged local government on behalf of the most vulnerable, why holding positional authority requires such action, and why “relationships are the most powerful unit of change.” If you want to hear when and how to p...