Our guest, Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Western Michigan University (WMU). He is an internationally known scholar and a nationally recognized advocate for educational effectiveness and equity.

Provost Vasquez Heilig explains the “Western Way” of WMU as undergirded by innovation. Innovation has been proven necessary to meet the strategic goals so that “all may learn.” Outcomes include improved retention and closing equity gaps such as graduation rates. As an institution focused on access, he shares efforts on the recruitment of historically underrepresented student populations, including Native American communities, as an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).

Responding to the 2024 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers finding that there has been an increase in faculty and staff turnover, Dr. Vasquez Heilig expresses WMU’s commitment to hire and retain faculty with a history of supporting students from historically marginalized communities.

The Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

The Sponsor: Xcelerated Excellence Consulting

EDUP Xcelerated Excellence Community Contributors:

Resources:

Opportunities:

Our guest, Rodney Toulson, returns to the Xcelerated Excellence podcast. He is the founder of Restorative Consulting Service LLC. And in this episode, he outlines how restorative practice is operationalized through his consultancies and how the practice can aid in school renewal and excellence.

Rodney explains how his study and engagement with the International Institute for Restorative Practices, of which he is a graduate, set the stage for a career in restorative practice. He articulates the importance of collective responsibility of teams and their individuals members for effective restorative practice.

Rodney contends that at its core, restorative practice is about relationships and mindset. It is through the right relationships and mindsets that educational equity is made possible. He concludes with an invitation to join Restorative Consulting Services’ 4-week book study to learn more.

Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Resources:

EDUP Xcelerated Excellence’s Episode Inspirational Shorts with Rodney Toulson—Restorative Counseling

International Institute for Restorative Practice

The EDUP Experience

Our Guest, ⁠Dr. Ramon Goings⁠, is the founder of ⁠Done Dissertation⁠, a consulting firm aimed at helping more than 1000 students successfully complete their dissertations in one year or less.

Dr. Goings shares how his experiences as a doctoral student and the disruption of the COVID pandemic influenced the development and direction of the resources provided by Done Dissertation.

Working with doctoral students and universities across discipline areas, Done Dissertation offers collaborative and personalized services to support clients. The organization has created safe spaces for doctoral candidates to problem solve through their challenges for completing their dissertations. Equally, the services provided supplement the support provided through the traditional faculty committee structure.

Dr. Goings is also the author of ⁠14 Secrets to a Done Dissertation: A Guide to Navigating the Dissertation Process and Finishing in Record Time.⁠

Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by ⁠Xcelerated Excellence Consulting⁠, which provides customized, value-added consultancies to educational leaders and their organizations to meet their full potential for excellence through strategic planning and problem solving, continuous improvement expertise, and professional development.

Your Host: ⁠Jacob Easley II, PhD,PMP⁠

Resources:

Inside Higher Education: ⁠I’m Chairing My First Dissertation. What Do I Do?⁠

⁠The EDUP Experience⁠

⁠EDUP PCO⁠

#dissertation

#doctoralcompletion

#donedissertation

#HBCUalmuni

Our guest, Dr. Lisa Vollendorf, is the 6th President of SUNY Empire State University. Did you know that Empire State is New York’s only public, online institution of higher education?

Dr. Vollendorf shares the origin of Empire State University, for which equity and access were key drivers. The university offers two-year, four-year, and limited graduate programs. Graduates of the 2024 class range from age 17 to 77.

Empire is designated as an Autism Support College, recognized by the Anderson Center for Autism and is a leader in innovation regarding transferability of credits. Dr. Vollendorf explains how Empire is addressing the more than 40 million individuals in the United States who have attended college but have not completed or received credentials.

Listen to learn about Empire’s holistic approach for student support and more.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Resources:

Empire State University

The State University of New York (SUNY)

EDUP PCO

The EDUP Experience

#onlinelearning

#studentsupport

#autism

Our guest ⁠⁠Andrés Acebo⁠⁠, Interim President of ⁠⁠New Jersey City University⁠⁠ shares how he and the NJCU community have forged a new mission and vision for what he calls a “Student Ready” college.

President Acebo stresses the importance of shared governance, while insisting on ways to meet the needs of students and communities served. NJCU is federally recognized as a minority serving institution (MSI). Andy explains how his professional and personal missions are reflected back in the experiences and successes of the NJCU student body.

He shares his insights on educational effectiveness and equity and the recent Supreme Court ruling, banning race-based admissions for institutions of higher education (IHEs).

Your Host: ⁠⁠Jacob Easley II, PhD. PMP⁠⁠

Resources:

⁠⁠NJCU Admissions⁠⁠

ROI-NJ.Com: ⁠⁠For NJCU’s Acebo, Success Story Born of Opportunity, Affirmative Action College Ruling Hits Home⁠⁠

⁠⁠The EDUP Experience⁠⁠

Our guest Steven Simmons, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Nilent, NIL Enterprise Solutions, shares experiences supporting college athletes for financial literacy, wellbeing, and social media branding.

Partnering with colleges and corporate bands, Steve shares how the Nilent service model reflects a mix of alturism and mercenary capitalism. The model is driving solutions in the wake of the recent federal ruling allowing college athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL). He underlies the importance of authentic engagement not only across Nilent services, but for athletes in branding, and colleges in educating.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Episode Sponsor: Elation Communications

Resources:

Federal judge blocks NCAA from enforcing NIL rules

EDUP Legal

EDUP The Experience

Dr. Kevin Kumashiro, Interim Dean for the School of

Dr. Kumashiro is a scholar and advocate of anti-oppressive education and share frameworks to guide educator preparation and educational equity. He shares examples of how to operationalize these frameworks across different contexts within the education profession. His inspiration is drawn from social movements.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Sponsor:

#Liberatoryeducation

#anti-oppresiveeducation

#educatorpreparation

Dr. Elsa Núñez is the President of Eastern Connecticut State University, Connecticut’s only public liberal arts institution of higher education. Dr. Núñez shares her lived experiences, and those as a university president looking toward retirement who is a lifelong learner.

She discusses the importance of a liberal arts education and educational attainment. She champions excellence and access and shares with the EDUP Xcelerated Excellence community the evolutionary process defining the unique excellence of Eastern.

Dr. Núñez shares the importance for education leaders to attend to social media, a collaborative approach for strategic planning, and brand identity development. She explains the power of kindness in society and how to manage work-life-balance as an educational leader.

Equity and effectiveness at Eastern are undergirded by a quality educational experience and opportunities for motivated students who otherwise might not have them.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP The Experience

Resources

Start your Eastern Personalized Journey https://www.easternct.edu/viewbook/

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

#liberalarts

Guest, Dr. Alisha Pollard, is President of Warriors Helping Achieve Triumph (or “WHAT”). What is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to empowering individuals of all ages through enriching experiences and knowledge-sharing sessions, while encouraging self-confidence and the desire to excel. Dr. Pollard, describes how WHAT supports students and their families achieve financial literacy.

Recording during the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024, Las Vegas, NV, Dr. Pollard shares how authentic relationships have garnered positive connections across the Marketing 2.0, Healthcare 2.0 and other concurrent conferences.

She inspires educators and educational organizations to seek to level the playing field, championing equity to communities lacking in tools and resources.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP The Education Experience

#Financialliteracy

#justice

#equity

#networking

Meet Ty-Quan Payne, Dean of School Culture at Ivy Hill Prep in Brooklyn, NY. Ivy Hill Prep is a small charter school serving grades K-5. Mr. Payne is also an artist and founder of #LovePayne Productions offering independent executive producer services for theatrical productions, as well as photography, dramaturgy, and acting coaching services.

He shares how the use of martial arts at Ivy Hill Prep is married to the social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum to aid in students’ holistic develop. He stresses the school’s vision for preparing students in shaping the future.

Recorded during the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024, Las Vegas, NV, Ty-Quan explains that the conference sessions have helped him to improve his leadership in oder to better support others.

Ty-Quan advises those seeking to champion effectiveness and equity in education to align their hearts and minds for good and execute their vision.

Find Ty-Quan Payne on X: @iamlovepayne

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUPTheEducationExperience

#SEL

#SocialEmotionalLearning

#Charterschool

#Leadership

#Arts

#MartialArts