The Innovating Together Podcast

Today we’re talking with the president of Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Michael Rao.  He has been a president since age 28 from community colleges to research universities, with VCU being his fourth presidency.  He was always interested in higher education, as he viewed it as a great enabler of the American dream, and he wanted to be a part of that. Dr. Rao says higher ed collect...

Today we’re talking to founder and chancellor of Minerva, Ben Nelson.  Minerva was founded in 2012 and was an approved program of an accredited institution, but was not accredited itself.  Ben says Minerva chose to pursue the accreditation route to prove that they have all the same constraints as other institutions, but are still way more effective.  Having just announced its accred...

Today we’re talking with University of California-Riverside Chancellor Kim Wilcox.  In addition to being UCR Chancellor, Wilcox  is one of the founders of University Innovation Alliance.  He’s been happy to announce that UIA schools have surpassed their founding degree goals, but he says there are other dynamics just as important as helping more students to achieve university succes...

Today, we’re talking with UC Davis Chancellor, Gary S. May.  UC Davis is a broad institution with a distinguished history.  They made national headlines with their approach to navigating Covid.  Chancellor May says that when everything was shutting down fifteen months ago and everyone was uncertain, there were a lot of concerns about returning to campus in the Fall.  UC Davis c...

Today we’re talking with Dr. Chantal Levesque-Bristol from Purdue University.  Dr. Levesque-Bristol leads Purdue’s Center for Instructional Excellence.  She has primary interests in teaching and learning, faculty development, and institutional change.  She researches motivation, with most applications being in the domain of education.  Dr. Levesque-Bristol has worked with hundr...

Today we’re talking with President and CEO of Jobs For The Future (JFF), Maria Flynn.  JFF is a national non-profit that drives transformation between higher education and the workforce.  Maria says JFF is called upon by foundations looking for a non-profit to lead or manage major initiatives.  The federal government utilizes them also, and they’re now hearing from more and more cor...

Today we’re talking with the Executive Director of the National Institute for Student Success at GSU, Tim Renick.  Tim was voted one of the fifty greatest leaders in the world by Fortune Magazine.  Tim says it’s been a challenging year, but that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  He says plans for Fall look a lot more normal.  He just helped to launch the National Ins...

Today we’re joined by North Carolina A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin.  North Carolina A&T is the newest member to join the University Innovation Alliance, a leading national coalition of public research universities committed to increasing the number and diversity of college graduates.  Chancellor Martin says we have to meet the challenge of providing students an excellent educat...

Today we’re talking with special guest UMBC President and newest member of the University Innovation Alliance.  Freeman Hrabowski.  The goal of the University Innovation Alliance is to help every student to achieve success. They aim to produce more graduates of color and more graduates across the socioeconomic spectrum.  They do this through innovating together, scaling ideas that w...

Today we’re talking to Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley.  He has a depth of experience and expertise.  In addition to being a university president, he is an infectious disease specialist.  President Stanley says he knows Dr. Fauci, and he’s honest, direct, and we couldn’t have been in better hands during this pandemic.  It’s been an unprecedented year, but Pre...

Today we’re talking with Georgia State University President Mark Becker.  Getting ready to leave the presidency this summer, President Becker shares his perspective looking back.  He says change is a slow process, and it’s hard to imagine who he was twelve and a half years ago.   He does know that he has a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexity of these roles....

Today we’re talking to Dominican University of California President Mary Marcy.  Having spent many years at an array of public and private institutions, she’s retiring after ten years at Dominican University.  It’s the last week of the semester and Dominican has been virtual for the whole last year and a half.  President Marcy says last week they did their drive-through graduation c...

This is the one-year anniversary of Start The Week With Wisdom and to celebrate we have our original guest, ASU President Michael Crow, back in the hot seat.  When we first spoke to President Crow last year about what it was like to lead, he used a metaphor equating leading to sailing.  He talked about how you had to adjust for the different winds.  After a year of gale force winds,...

Today we’re meeting with the president of AASCU Millie Garcia.  Millie has been the president of multiple institutions and now finds herself in a role of leading leaders with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).  While at it’s core AASCU is about the students, they work to help presidents and their teams to be as successful as possible.  Millie says t...

Today we’re talking with Nashville State Community College President Shanna Jackson. She discusses a teaching experience that she had that caused her to understand the power of education. Many of the students were the first in their family to go to college and Shanna saw the hardships students were facing. Shanna says education is one of the strongest ladders and that she had to be a support. Shan...

Today we’re talking to California’s Senior Policy Adviser Dr. Lande Ajose. She works with the Governor of California to see what they can do to shape the higher education system in their state. Since she represents higher education as a whole she works hard to get colleges to view themselves as pieces of a puzzle. California is often known for its Master Plan for Higher Education. The problem with...

Today we’re talking to Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Ed Chancellor Daniel Greenstein.  Chancellor Greenstein is feeling optimistic about where we are in the pandemic, and is proud of what Pennsylvania institutions have overcome and achieved despite everything happening this past year.  When deciding about the kind of role he was interested in pursuing after leaving his post as th...

Today we’re talking with Dr. Gaye Theresa Johnson from UCLA.  Dr. Johnson has done meaningful work in the areas of racism, cultural history, and political economy.  Dr. Johnson describes herself as a lifelong learner and a teacher in the broadest sense.  As a community engaged scholar she’s been part of movements for the new role of education in society.  She said she’s aware o...

Today we’re talking with Pomona College President Gabi Starr.  She just received her second COVID-19 vaccine and feels like they’re turning a corner with all the vaccines going out over campus.  She looks forward to bringing people back to work and students back to campus.  When COVID-19 hit President Starr was in the midst of hiring new members of her leadership team, and they had...

Today we’re talking with Berkeley City College President, Angelica Garcia.  Angelica is just finishing up her first year in the president role, one that she took on during COVID-19.  She says she’s mostly been working from home, maybe visiting campus two dozen times, and can’t wait to get back on campus fully.  With 116 colleges, in 72 districts, the California college landscape is...

Today we’re talking with Dillard University President Walter M. Kimbrough.  President Kimbrough is recognized for his research on African Americans in college and has written the book Follow The Leader: Lessons in Social Media Success From Higher Ed CEO’s. President Kimbrough says they have been in some hybrid form all throughout the year and expect even more classes in person this next semes...

Today we talk to California State University Chancellor Dr. Joseph I. Castro. The former President of Cal State Fresno took on his new role just two months ago. Even as it can be an awkward time to make a transition because of Covid, Dr. Castro says it’s been pretty smooth and that he feels very fortunate to serve at such a consequential time. With California State University being the nation’s bi...

Today we’re joined by Chancellor Elwood Robinson with Winston-Salem State. With students back on campus, Elwood says his institution is doing great amidst this pandemic. They’re learning a lot and are glad to meet the various challenges. Elwood has always tried to lead from the heart and has found that approach has served him well during these trying times. He can’t say enough about his staff and...

Today we’re talking with President Brian Noland from East Tennessee State University .  Brian was previously the Chancellor of West Virginia Higher Education Policy Division, giving him a unique perspective. Brian says TSU is doing optimistically well, hoping for a somewhat normal return in the Fall.  He says no one was prepared for the intensity of the pandemic issue or the weight of da...

Today on Start The Week With Wisdom, Bridget and Paul are speaking with Oregon State University President F. King Alexander. Having been President of Murray State University, Cal State Long Beach, and Louisiana State University, Mr. Alexander has a broad perspective on higher education. As an advocate for vulnerable students, Mr. Alexander has seen the pandemic bring unique challenges. Luckily he...