Gettin' Stuff Done in Higher Education

In this episode, we dig into Competency-Based Education with Grace Fowler, Senior Director of Client Success for the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) to discuss the role that Competency-Based Education is playing in a rapidly changing career and employment landscape.

Kelvin and Fritz welcome Dr. Rob Gibson, Dean of Academic Services and Director of Instructional Technology at Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (aka WSU Tech). We talk about how WSU Tech is thriving in the difficult enrollment environment, how AI is making its way into higher education, and have a few laughs along the way.

We kick off 2026 with Friso Kuiper, Lead Senior Analyst, Market Research and Business Analysis at Tufts University. The discussion gets into the weeds of using IPEDS data to analyze program opportunities. We also talk about Higher Education Data Labs, Friso's upcoming venture to create a data platform that provides enhanced IPEDS to higher education market research and institutional research professionals.

Dr. Erin Crisp from the University of Tennessee System joins us to describe her efforts to support improving educator pipelines in her state through the use of apprenticeships that benefit educator paraprofessionals. This discussion highlights the nuances of working within the learn-work ecosystem.

Dr. Maya Evans joins us to unpack her path from tenure-track faculty to institutional research to strategic leadership and why higher education often mistakes analysis for actual strategy. We explore the moments that shaped her work and the questions she believes leaders need to start asking. A focused, honest look at what it really takes to move institutions forward.

Kevin, Kelvin, and Fritz get into a range of topics, including new roles, conferences, and the confusing landscape of micro-credentials.

The GSD crew has a wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Khendum Gyabak, Senior Director for Teaching and Learning Excellence at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). We explore the unique challenges and opportunities that the College is encountering as it serves a world-wide learner population. Plus, we talk about how MCAD is wrestling with the use of AI in an arts curriculum.

Kevin and Fritz talk to Dr. Nick Pace, whose career has taken him from teacher, to principal, to faculty member, to his new role as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. Nick provides some very useful insights about how to step into a leadership role as well as the special meaning of buckeyes (the seed, not the university in Ohio...) in his family.

For Episode 5, Kevin, Kelvin, and Fritz welcome their first guest, Dr. Michael Edmondson, Associate Provost for Continued Learning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Michael walks us through his path from first generation undergraduate student to private sector market research to leading non-degree credential initiatives at NJIT. And there's a healthy dose of laughter along the way!

We conclude our getting to know your hosts episodes with Fritz Vandover, whose unexpected path during (and out of) a Ph.D. in American History started him on his unique career path in higher education.