EdUp Insights

Megan Crane, CPA, is an Assurance Director atDean Dorton, where she has been serving clients since joining the firm in 2009.With extensive experience providing audit, accounting, and consulting servicesacross a wide range of industries, Megan is known for her strong commitment toclient service and her passion for supporting higher education institutions andnonprofit organizations. She leads the fi...

In this episode of EdUp Insights , we sit down with Carey Thompson—principal and founder of CVET Strategies and a nationally respected voice in enrollment management—to explore the evolving landscape of higher education and what it will take to move it forward. Drawing on more than four decades of leadership across some of the nation’s top liberal arts institutions, Carey reflects on the transform...

Jim Carr, President and CEO of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), brings decades of leadership at the intersection of college athletics and higher education to this episode of Ed Up Insights . With a career spanning roles in law, athletics administration, and national governance, Carr has been instrumental in advancing a model of education-based athletics that emphasizes...

Trained as a designer, Sukhwant Jhaj uses design thinking to discover new solutions for incremental and disruptive challenges facing higher education. In his role as vice provost at Arizona State University, Jhaj pursues ways to create greater levels of student success for all learners across all degree types. He works to identify new ways the university can improve learning outcomes, and helps AS...

Greg Britton is the Editorial Director at Johns Hopkins University Press, where he plays a leading role in shaping and publishing influential works in higher education, the humanities, and the social sciences. With decades of experience in academic publishing, Greg partners closely with authors to develop ideas from early concept through publication, helping translate complex research into accessi...

Kevin co-founded Rize Education in 2019. After working on Wall Street for The Blackstone Group, Kevin moved to rural Michigan, along with Rize’s other co-founders, to learn first hand about the challenges facing higher education at Adrian College. His deep passion for expanding access to education and economic mobility is core to everything we do at Rize.

Bryan Alexander is an internationally recognized futurist, author, and thought leader focused on the future of higher education. He is a senior scholar at Georgetown University, where he teaches in the Learning, Design, and Technology program, and is widely known for helping institutions understand how technology, demographics, economics, and culture intersect to shape what comes next in postsecon...

Rick Staisloff is a nationally recognized leader in higher education finance and strategy and the founder and senior partner of rpk GROUP, a consulting firm focused on helping colleges and universities build financially sustainable business models. With more than two decades of experience across public and private institutions, state agencies, and legislative bodies, Rick has been a leading voice...

In this special edition of Ed Up Authors Insights , Chuck and Mike reflect on their long‑standing partnership and the ideas behind their latest book—one that tackles some of the most difficult and under‑examined challenges facing higher education today. No Confidence explores the growing frequency of faculty no‑confidence votes, what drives them, and what they signal about leadership, shared gover...

Jason Montgomery is a Partner at Husch Blackwell and a former NCAA investigator with extensive experience working both on campus and at the national level. Throughout his career, he has helped colleges and universities navigate NCAA enforcement, eligibility, compliance, and complex regulatory challenges, bringing a practical, systems‑level perspective shaped by years inside athletics departments a...

Dr. Sara Goldrick‑Rab** is a nationally recognized sociologist, author, and leading voice on college affordability and student basic needs. She is best known for founding the **#RealCollege movement**, which has transformed how higher education understands food insecurity, housing instability, and financial precarity among students. Through her research, writing, and policy engagement, she has hel...

Dr. Kevin R. McClure is a nationally recognized scholar, writer, and speaker focused on leadership, finance, and workplace culture in higher education. He serves as a professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where his work centers on how colleges—particularly regional public universities—can build more sustainable, people‑first institutions. Widely known for tr...

Brian Rosenberg is a former college president, higher education scholar, and widely respected commentator on institutional leadership and change. He is President Emeritus of Macalester College , a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education , and Senior Advisor to the African Leadership University . Drawing on decades of experience as a faculty member, dean, and president, Rosen...

Dr. Karen Weaver is a nationally recognized scholar and practitioner at the intersection of intercollegiate athletics, higher education leadership, and public policy . She serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and is the Academic Director of the Collegiate Athletics for Senior Campus Leaders certificate program . A former Division I...

Dr. Hass brings deep experience and a national perspective on higher education leadership. She currently serves as President of the Council of Independent Colleges , representing hundreds of institutions committed to access, innovation, and student success. Her career spans faculty leadership, the presidency, and system‑level advocacy—grounded in a clear commitment to mission‑driven higher educati...

John Thelin is a nationally respected historian of higher education and Professor Emeritus of Higher Education and Public Policy at the University of Kentucky. He is widely known for bringing historical perspective to today’s most pressing issues in higher education, including college access, affordability, governance, and the role of athletics. Over a distinguished academic career, John has autho...

Heather Colley is an emerging literary talent whose work has already captured national attention, including recognition on Forbes’ “2025 Books to Watch” list. A graduate of the University of Michigan and currently pursuing her PhD in literature, Heather blends academic depth with sharp narrative craft to explore campus culture, identity, power dynamics, and the psychological complexities of young...

Dr. Mark A. Brown is a distinguished leader whose journey spans military service, government stewardship, and higher‑education transformation. A Tuskegee University alumnus who rose from humble beginnings, he served 32 years in the United States Air Force, retiring as a Major General and shaping the future of airmen through education, training, and talent development. After military service, he wa...

Get ready for a compelling conversation on Ed Up Insights as we welcome our newest guest, Robert Kelchen , one of the nation’s leading voices in higher education policy and finance. Known for his data‑driven approach and clear-eyed analysis of college accountability, student aid, and institutional behavior, Kelchen brings both depth and clarity to some of the most pressing issues shaping the futur...

Deepa Das Acevedo is a law and anthropology scholar whose work sits at the intersection of academic labor, institutional culture, and the evolving structures of higher education. A professor at Emory University, she blends rigorous legal analysis with anthropological insight to illuminate how faculty roles, employment contracts, and academic norms shape the lived realities of scholars. Her acclaim...

Carole G. Basile is the Dean and Professor of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, where she is nationally recognized for pioneering the Next Education Workforce movement—a structural redesign that replaces the traditional “one teacher, one classroom” model with team-based approaches that better support learner variability and educator well‑being. With more than 30 yea...

Ed Up Insights: From the Field is a candid, experience‑driven conversation hosted by Chuck Ambrose and Therese Scanlan , bringing real‑world insights from campuses across higher education. Each episode dives into the pressing financial, operational, and strategic challenges institutions face—budgeting, cash flow, structural deficits, student success, workforce alignment, and the courageous decisio...

Dr. Joe Sallustio is one of higher education’s most influential voices, bringing more than two decades of leadership across enrollment, marketing, student services, accreditation, and institutional strategy. As Co‑Founder and Host of The EdUp Experience , he’s led hundreds of conversations with higher‑ed leaders, making the show a trusted space for candid, forward‑thinking dialogue. Elvin Freytes...

Paul LeBlanc is a pioneering figure in higher education, best known for transforming Southern New Hampshire University into the largest nonprofit online education provider in the United States. A first-generation college graduate, LeBlanc has dedicated his career to expanding access and equity in learning, championing innovative models like competency-based education and global outreach initiative...

Ned Laff , a veteran educator and academic strategist, champions student-centered learning and personalized pathways in higher education. Scott Carlson , a senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education , brings sharp insights into systemic challenges and innovation in academia. Together, they co-authored Hacking College , a bold manifesto urging students to rethink majors and craft meaningfu...