Changing Higher Ed

Host Dr. Drumm McNaughton welcomes Dr. Harrison Keller , president of the University of North Texas and former Texas commissioner of higher education. This episode of the Changing Higher Ed podcast helps higher education presidents, boards, and senior leaders rethink how to connect institutional mission with workforce readiness. It explores how institutions can better align employer partnerships,...

At one of the smallest graduate schools in the nation, a system built to serve just over a hundred students is redefining how higher education can grow. CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism has proven that scale isn't the key to enrollment stability—structure is. By integrating admissions, student affairs, career services, and alumni engagement into one cohesive unit, the school has...

When every board discussion centers on deficits, deferred maintenance, or another "strategic realignment," higher education leaders start asking what it would take to fix the system instead of just managing decline. In this episode of the  Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Beth Martin, President of Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), who led her institution through a...

Higher education institutions are increasingly at risk from cyberattacks that threaten enrollment, accreditation, financial aid compliance, and reputation. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Brian Kelly, Chief Information Security Officer at Community Health Networks of Connecticut and former higher education CISO, about why cybersecurity must be...

Higher education institutions face strained budgets, declining enrollments, and shifting donor behavior—making fundraising a strategic priority, not just an operational function. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Bill Crouch , CEO of BrightDot and former university president, about how presidents and boards can strengthen higher education fun...

AI dashboards offer higher education boards the opportunity to boost performance to improve their institutions. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed Podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Marc Huffman, CEO of OnBoard and eSCRIBE , about how AI dashboards provide trustees with better insight into board work and support more effective board governance. This conversation is especially releva...

Families are writing universities directly to ask if it's safe to send their children to the United States. Institutions are also facing longer visa backlogs and growing competition from abroad. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with  Dr. Roger Douglas , Dean for International Programs and Development at St. Martin's University, about how leaders can...

This episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast focuses on enrollment management solutions presidents and boards can use to navigate the enrollment cliff. Bill Conley and Bob Massa of Enrollment Intelligence Now join Dr. Drumm McNaughton to share practical guidance on setting realistic enrollment goals, aligning enrollment with finance, and managing institutional risk . (Part one examined the chal...

Institutions face converging pressures that are reshaping enrollment management. Declining participation rates, tuition discounting that erodes net revenue, international enrollment volatility, and political mandates are forcing colleges to rethink how they attract and retain students. Enrollment management is no longer just admissions and aid — it has become a strategic system linking recruitment...

Caltech's board once had nearly 80 members; too many for focused discussion or quick decisions. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton talks with Cathy Light, Caltech's Secretary of the Board , about how the institution streamlined governance , strengthened committees, and made trustee reorientation mandatory. Light, who has held senior roles at Carnegie Mellon Un...

40% of California's licensed doctoral psychologists come from one university that nearly failed a decade ago. Their turnaround didn't come from diversifying programs or chasing enrollment—it came from making the hardest decision in higher ed: cutting what wasn't excellent. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Andy Vaughn , President and CEO of Allia...

With first-generation and low SES students facing steep barriers to completion and career entry, Great Jobs KC has built a replicable model that starts in high school, continues through college, and delivers real workforce outcomes. In this episode of the  Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Great Jobs KC CEO Earl Martin Phalen about how regional collaboration, wraparoun...

Higher education leaders are facing the most sweeping set of federal regulatory and funding changes in over a decade. In this Washington Update episode of the  Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton welcomes back frequent guest Tom Netting, president of TEN Government Strategies, to discuss the July 2025 budget reconciliation bill—federal legislation that significantly alters student l...

Most colleges rely on more than 20 disconnected systems to support students, creating confusion, reducing engagement, and lowering graduation rates. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with  Elliot Felix is the founder of brightspot Strategy (acquired by Buro Happold in 2020) and the author of The Connected College: Leadership Strategies for Student Succ...

AI can change how colleges and universities approach enrollment, making it faster, fairer, and more aligned with student success. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton talks with Ashish Fernando, founder and CEO of EDMO and iSchoolConnect , about how institutions can use artificial intelligence to improve admissions, automate routine tasks, and personalize support w...

Digital transformation in higher education often focuses on technology. But for Utah State University, the transformation has been about outcomes: improving retention, strengthening equity, and building scalable systems of support without overhauling infrastructure. In this episode of the  Changing Higher Ed®  podcast ,  Dr. Drumm McNaughton  speaks with  Rene Eborn, Associate Vice President of St...

How Cross-Sector Partnerships Help Adult Learners Return, Persist, and Complete Degrees With over 41 million adults in the U.S. holding some college credit but no degree, colleges and universities are under pressure to implement effective adult learner enrollment strategies. In this episode of the Changing Higher  Ed  podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Malik Brown, President and CEO of Gra...

Higher education leaders are searching for better ways to engage students, improve retention, and close equity gaps—especially in the wake of COVID-related learning disruptions. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Justin Shaffer , Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Teaching Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Colora...

Shared services and consolidation strategies are helping struggling small colleges stabilize operations, reduce costs, and pursue sustainable growth—without compromising institutional identity or student outcomes. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , host Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with  Jason Duggan, CEO of Thesis Elements , about how these approaches are being used to help small...

While higher education leaders often cite leadership development as a priority, few institutions treat it as a teachable, measurable skill. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed® , host Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Scott Cowen about why leadership education should be integrated into the academic curriculum—and how institutions can implement it effectively. President Emeritus of Tulane Univ...

Higher education's approach to DEI is under fire—from political pressure, public skepticism, and internal fatigue. But abandoning DEI isn't the only option. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed® , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Columbia Law professor Susan Sturm about how higher ed institutions can continue to drive inclusive institutional change—without relying on traditional DEI frameworks th...

Higher education is facing a growing disconnect between traditional academic pathways and the needs of today's learners and employers. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Kathleen deLaski, founder of Education Design Lab and author of Who Needs College Anymore? , about how institutions can realign academic programs to better serve nontraditional stu...

Higher education faces increasing external pressures and diminishing public trust—creating an urgent need for institutional adaptation. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Brian Rosenberg , former president of Macalister College and author of "

Strategic affiliation in higher education offers an alternative path for institutional sustainability—one that maintains mission and autonomy while accessing shared infrastructure and support. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Matt Nehmer, President of The Colleges of Law, about his institution's affiliation with The Community Solution Educati...

Strategic planning in higher education isn't just about setting goals—it's about building the kind of stakeholder engagement and leadership alignment that can drive lasting institutional change. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed® podcast , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Andrew T. Hsu , President of the College of Charleston, about how a collaborative planning process helped increase enro...