Dean Hendrickson interviews Dr. Heidi Larson, associate professor in the graduate program in Counseling and Student Development. Dr. Larson oversees a mentoring program in Mattoon HIgh School led by graduate students from her program. She has published on a range of topics, including strategies to manage standardized exams, as well as effective mentoring strategies.

In the first podcast of EIU Innovate, Dean Hendrickson interviews Dr. Jay Bickford, associate professor and graduate coordinator of Elementary Education. Dr. Bickford's research examines the presentation of historical figures in trade books. As one of EIU's most prolific scholars, Dr. Bickford also oversees a graduate program experiencing significant enrollment growth.