Changing Higher Ed

Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews Dr. Larry Large , long-time higher education administrator, president of LD Large Consulting, and president emeritus of Oglethorpe University about the most important disruptions facing higher ed today and how higher leaders can respond. Podcast Highlights The world of higher education has changed over the past thirty years in ways that affect virtually all areas o...

  Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews Chris Kuberski , president of Highland Community College in Illinois, about her tremendous strides in the last three years to overhaul the organizational culture at her institution in order to provide an exceptional student experience through exceptional faculty and staff experiences.   Podcast Highlights Want to offer an exceptional student experience? First, do...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews John A. White , a long-time leader in academia who most recently served as Chancellor of the University of Arkansas, about current trends in higher ed governance and governing boards that likely will erode operational efficiencies—and how a focus on alignment can help leaders succeed. Podcast Highlights The insertion of former politicians into higher ed executive r...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews Jeff Spear, Principal at CFO Colleague , about the situation in higher education finance and how leaders can rethink finance in the face of current challenges. Podcast Highlights While the GI Bill and other government programs have achieved a great deal, the result has been discounts and tuition increases that render the price tag of a college education virtually m...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews Dr. Daniel Aguilar , a higher ed consultant in social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion issues, on reframing higher ed's fragmented approach to diversity on campuses to better meet the needs of individual students while also boosting the university's return on investment. Podcast Highlights Social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion – JEDI is not mere...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Phil Hill , a top expert on educational technology and online project management, to discuss the current—disrupted—state of the industry and the answers college and university presidents must come up with to survive the existential questions facing institutions today. Podcast Highlights Unlike their predecessor MOOCs, OPMs are here to stay. Now mainstream throughout...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews Ryan Craig , a Forbes journalist, author, Managing Director at Achieve Partners, and leader in the movement to establish an apprenticeship system for training and hiring employees. McNaughton and Craig discuss why traditional higher education will decline unless dramatic transformation is made to create workforce readiness.  Podcast Highlights The gap between the t...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton  interviews Dr. Ami Moyal , president of Israel's Afeka College of Engineering, about how he used the skills and insights from his years as CEO of a high-tech company to transform Afeka's curriculum and processes to better meet current and future industry demands with the implementation of a continuous improvement culture. Podcast Highlights Change must start from the inside,...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Richard "Dick" Chait , a distinguished Fulbright Scholar and one of the top higher education management and governance experts, about the evolving roles, responsibilities, and key traits of effective board members and trustees. Podcast Highlights Governance in higher education has changed over time, and governance structures must continue to evolve for instituti...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Amy Privette Perko , CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, about the educational model of collegiate sports and the changing face of the NCAA. Podcast Highlights Two concurrent – but not directly connected – sets of major changes relating to the NCAA were made public in June and July of 2021, marking a period of transformational change in colleg...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Rick Beyer, Executive Chairman at Core Education Services , PBC, about new and innovative ways that smaller colleges and universities can leverage shared services and affiliations to survive and prosper in the future. Podcast Highlights The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded previously existing and systemic problems in higher education, which will require transformati...

In this episode of the podcast, two-time former president of the University of South Carolina, Harris Pastides, shares his experiences and beliefs about what it takes to lead an institution of higher education in the 21 st century. Throughout his remarkable career, Pastides has led with a student-centered approach, a willingness to show his own humanity, and a commitment to making himself accessib...

In this episode, Brandon Busteed explores the dramatic and positive shift taking place in people's perceptions of education technology and online learning. A recent poll showed that Americans have increasingly positive opinions about the quality of online education, with 47% saying that online learning is just as good as in-person education. Even more impressively, a growing percentage – 8%, up fr...

In this episode, Drumm McNaughton and Mike Goldstein, Managing Partner at Tyton Partners , discuss the emerging trend among colleges and universities to engage in very different kinds of partnerships than what we have seen in the past. As many schools struggle to generate sufficient revenue, mergers and acquisitions are becoming more common, especially among smaller schools. Goldstein explains how...

In this podcast, Dr. June Parks , a licensed psychologist specializing in childhood trauma, discusses how the youth mental health crisis, has been exacerbated and accelerated by the pandemic. Parks explains why mental health challenges on college campuses affect all members of the community, how generational differences impact individuals' capacity to speak up about their own issues, and why menta...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Artem Gulish and Katherine Peltier Campbell, colleagues at Georgetown University, and co-authors of a recent report The Uncertain Pathway from Youth to a Good Job . In this podcast, they discuss the hurdles young adults face transitioning from school to a good job. Younger generations are taking longer to land good jobs than previous generations. In this conversatio...

Podcast Summary In this episode, Drumm McNaughton and Tom Netting unpack the complex and sweeping proposed changes that have been released by the Department of Education over the course of June and July of this year. This important discussion covers the recently proposed changes to Title IX in addition to the Department's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding borrower defense to repayment...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University. Marvin is one of the few presidents still teaching classes, and his recent article discusses why compassion, community, and kindness are perfectly aligned with the goal of student success. Podcast Highlights All students at Pace University take a course called UNV 101, which eases them into the college ex...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Jayson Boyers, a first-generation student himself who is part of a new breed of higher education leaders hailing from the business community. As the president of Rosemont College, a very small liberal arts school in the greater Philadelphia area, Boyers is focused on innovative ways to meet student needs wherever they are. Podcast Highlights By looking at prospectiv...

In this podcast, Tom Netting and Drumm McNaughton discuss the issues debated in this year's Negotiated Rulemaking Process (NegReg) in depth. Netting provides his take on the major successes, implications of non-consensus, and other outcomes. In addition, they discuss other current legislation affecting higher education and upcoming changes to Title IX. Podcast Highlights During the process of Neg...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Allison Jegla and Richard Light, co-authors of a new book that offers no-cost to low-cost suggestions that just about anyone in higher education can use to improve their institutions. The book, Becoming Great Universities : Small Steps for Sustainable Excellence takes an optimistic approach to making big changes through small actions. Podcast Highlig...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Martha Larson, Energy Manager at Minnesota's Carleton College, about how colleges and universities can reduce their operating costs through the use of green technologies.   Podcast Highlights Martha Larson explains that higher education institutions have a responsibility to act as role models by changing carbon-intense behaviors and modernizing energ...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, about his new article discussing the downturn in college enrollment rates – and why that trend might be a good thing. Podcast Highlights Over the course of the global pandemic in the past two years, nearly one million students that might have enrolled in higher graduation under normal ci...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Paul Alexander, president of Trinity Bible College and Graduate School, about Trinity's turnaround, which is a roadmap for a higher education institution turnaround. Podcast Highlights Build coalitions. Make sure relationships are preeminent. Everything happens out of those bonds. Make sure you craft the narrative, know how to share it and ensure...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Ashley Finley, Vice President of Research and Senior Advisor to the President for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), where they talk about the study " On the Same Page? Administrator and Faculty Views on What Shapes College Learning and Student Success ." Podcast Highlights There's a difference between what faculty are...