The Innovating Together Podcast

Higher education is facing a moment where moving slowly is no longer an option. In this episode of Start the Week with Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Sarah Custer sit down with Karen Stout, outgoing president and CEO of Achieving the Dream, to reflect on decades of leadership in community college student success, institutional transformation, data-driven decision-making, and what it really takes to lea...

What does student success really look like after high school? In this episode of Start the Week with Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Sarah Custer sit down with Melissa Connolly, CEO of OneGoal, to talk about college access, postsecondary success, multiple pathways, student advising, first-generation leadership, and why the old “college or bust” mindset no longer fits the lives of today’s students. Melis...

Online college has been around for years, but too many students still struggle to finish, transfer, or earn a degree without taking on debt. In this episode of Start the Week With Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Sarah Kuster sit down live at the ASU GSV Summit with Tade Oyerinde, Chancellor of Campus, to talk about a new model for community college, online learning, student success, and higher education...

AI in higher education is moving fast, but the real question is not whether colleges should use AI. The real question is how higher ed leaders can use AI, edtech, and innovation to help students learn well, finish strong, and build better futures. In this live episode from the ASU GSV Summit, we sit down with Mark Milliron, President and CEO of National University, to explore how colleges can move...

Choosing a college, career, major, or post secondary pathway can feel overwhelming for students and families, especially when young people are asked to make life-shaping decisions before they have had real career exposure. In this episode of Start the Week with Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Sara Custer sit down with Julie Lammers, President and CEO of Britebound , live from the ASU GSV Summit, to talk...

College presidents are facing one of the most difficult leadership moments in modern higher education. After more than 100 interviews with presidents, chancellors, provosts, system heads, and higher ed leaders, Bridget Burns and Doug Lederman unpack what the public, boards, faculty, staff, and policymakers often misunderstand about the college presidency.  This conversation explores why presidenti...

Higher education is facing a leadership crisis, and this conversation explains why.  In this live episode of Weekly Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Donna Lederman break down what makes the college presidency one of the hardest jobs in America, why so many presidents leave after just a few years, and what that instability is doing to colleges, universities, and students. If you work in higher education l...

What does it really take to lead with purpose, rise through multiple sectors, and keep going when people underestimate you?  In this inspiring episode of Start the Week With Wisdom, Bridget Burns and Sarah Custer sit down with Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace to talk about leadership, service, resilience, career growth, and the journey behind her new book Made for This.  From higher education leadership...

What does it take to lead a university for over two decades, and still love the work? In this special farewell episode of Start the Week with Wisdom , hosts Bridget Burns and Sarah Custer sit down with President Satish Tripathi of the University at Buffalo as he reflects on a remarkable 22-year legacy of leadership, innovation, and transformation. With retirement on the horizon, President Tripathi...

What does it take to lead a university for over two decades, and still love the work? In this special farewell episode of Start the Week with Wisdom , hosts Bridget Burns and Sarah Custer sit down with President Satish Tripathi of the University at Buffalo as he reflects on a remarkable 22-year legacy of leadership, innovation, and transformation. With retirement on the horizon, President Tripathi...

What does it take to lead with both strategy and soul? In this moving and powerful episode of Start the Week with Wisdom , host Bridget Burns sits down with Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs for a conversation that redefines leadership in higher education. With a background in business and strategic planning, Jennifer brings a refreshingly different perspec...

What if college wasn’t built for the very students who need it most? In this episode of Pathbreakers , we talk to Dr. Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), about her deeply personal journey from first-generation college student to national higher education reformer. Bridget opens up about the systemic gaps that left her, and students like her, under-supported and misunder...

How do you lead when the rules keep changing, and you’re not even on the field? That’s the question this week as Start the Week with Wisdom welcomes Rob Anderson, President of SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association). In a moment where campus leaders face overwhelming complexity, Rob opens a window into the headspace of the often-misunderstood university system leader, those w...

What if the clarity you seek as a leader is already walking the halls of your campus? In this inspiring episode of Start the Week with Wisdom , co-hosts Bridget Burns and Sarah Custer sit down with Chancellor Kenneth “Ken” Christensen of the University of Colorado Denver, a leader who proves that service, collaboration, and a student-first mindset can transform an entire institution. Ken shares th...

Is higher ed still worth it, and who decides what’s valuable? In an era of AI disruption, value skepticism, and demographic cliffhangers, college leaders face mounting pressure from every angle. In this week’s episode of The Innovating Together Podcast , President Harrison Keller of the University of North Texas brings grounded, energizing clarity to the whirlwind. With roots in philosophy, public...

Learn more about the UIA by visiting: Website LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Facebook This week's episode is sponsored by Mainstay , a student retention and engagement tool where you can increase student and staff engagement with the only platform consistently proven to boost engagement, retention, and wellbeing. To learn more about Mainstay, click here .

In this episode of the Innovating Together podcast, host Bridget Burns welcomes Dr. Carole Basile, Dean of Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College of Teaching and Learning Innovation. Together, they dive deep into education innovation , structural change in teacher preparation , and the bold reimagining of the K–12 and higher education workforce . Dr. Basile’s fresh approach centers on...

Learn more about the UIA by visiting: Website LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Facebook This week's episode is sponsored by Mainstay , a student retention and engagement tool where you can increase student and staff engagement with the only platform consistently proven to boost engagement, retention, and wellbeing. To learn more about Mainstay, click here .

Recorded live at the ASU GSV Summit in San Diego, this episode of The Disagreement Podcast tackles the pressing question: Is college still worth it? Host Alex Grodd moderates a dynamic debate between higher education experts Dr. Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, and Ryan Craig, Managing Director at Achieve Partners and author of Apprentice Nation . Together, they unpack whe...

In this episode of the Innovating Together Podcast, host Bridget Burns introduces two trailblazers from the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) Fellows Program, Amy Martin and Renata Opoczynski, who share their transformative journey at Michigan State University (MSU). Recorded at the UIA National Summit, the episode highlights how MSU sustained student success despite significant challenges, inc...

In this episode of the Innovating Together Podcast , host Bridget Burns spotlights one of the most inspiring leadership journeys in the University Innovation Alliance’s history: Dr. Ryan Goodwin. A member of the UIA’s inaugural Fellows cohort, Dr. Goodwin reflects on his evolution from a fresh post-grad working out of a closet office at UCF to now serving as Senior Assistant Vice President for Str...

In this episode of the Innovating Together podcast, host Bridget Burns is joined by Dr. Allison Calhoun-Brown, Senior Vice President for Student Success at Georgia State University, to explore how the university moved from fragmented, paper-based advising to becoming a national exemplar of proactive, data-informed student support. This conversation highlights the real-world steps Georgia State too...

In this episode of the Innovating Together Podcast , host Bridget Burns sits down with Dr. Toyia Younger of Iowa State University to shine a spotlight on one of the most overlooked drivers of social mobility in higher education: transfer student success. Dr. Younger, a national thought leader and passionate advocate for transfer students, shares her personal journey; from her early days as Directo...

In this episode of the Innovating Together Podcast , host Bridget Burns sits down with Steve Wuhs and Claire Creighton from Oregon State University to review a transformational story of change. How do you drive institutional change in a way that’s people-centered, ambitious, and built to last; especially in a complex, decentralized university? Oregon State has cracked the code. Steve and Claire sh...

Learn more about the UIA by visiting: Website LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Facebook This week's episode is sponsored by Mainstay , a student retention and engagement tool where you can increase student and staff engagement with the only platform consistently proven to boost engagement, retention, and wellbeing. To learn more about Mainstay, click here .