In this episode, we speak with Dr. Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas. Under Dr. Sorrell’s 13-year tenure as president, Paul Quinn has become a national movement for its efforts to remake higher education in order to serve the needs of under-resourced students and communities. Join us to learn more about President Sorrell’s unconventional pathway to the presidency and the highly inventive route that he and PQC have pursued to design a new kind of university for today’s students.  For more information about President Sorrell and this remarkable institution, see here: https://www.pqc.edu/about-the-president/

It seems like everyone is talking about innovation these days. Boards of trustees are looking for innovative leaders, and there is a sense of urgency around the need to think and act differently. And yet, what does it mean to innovate in this rapidly evolving and increasingly challenging context? What does it take to build and sustain an innovative culture? Where do innovative leaders get their best ideas? Why is it so difficult to innovate and institute lasting change in an academic organization? And what can leaders do? These are just some of the questions addressed by our panel of insightful thought leaders in this special summer episode. In order of appearance: Michael Sorrell, Nathan Grawe, Sandra Doran, Scott Wyatt, Alison Kadlec, Paul LeBlanc, Susan Campbell Baldridge, Brandon Busteed, Bryan Alexander, Lenore Rodicio, David Staley, Laurie Pulido, Gregory Fowler, and Lynn Pasquerella

The challenges facing nearly all of higher education in the years ahead are daunting.  From declining demographics and accelerating competition to increasing questioning about the value of a college education, the need for new innovative models has never been greater.  Going forward, institutional resilience will require that colleges and universities understand and leverage their unique value proposition in an increasingly crowded marketplace.  In this mini episode, Landmark College President and CEO, Dr. Peter Eden speaks with Dr. Lauren Way about what it means to carve out a distinctive niche and mission and why this matters today more than ever.  This episode is a preview to the Leading Edge Thinking virtual webinar that Dr. Eden is presenting on August 25th at 12 noon - 1:00 pm.  Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5098848149945482253

What is on your radar right now?  As you look the future, what keeps you awake at night?  At the end of each interview, we ask our guests to respond to these same questions, to tell us what is top of mind as they contemplate the post-pandemic future.  We are pleased to share a compilation of the wisdom and insights that these extraordinary thought leaders shared with us during Season 2.  In order of appearance:  Sandra Doran, President at Bay Path University; David Horner, President at The American College in Greece; Yves Solomon-Fernandez, President at Greenfield Community College; Donna Carroll, President at Dominican University (IL); Michael Sorrell, President at Paul Quinn College; Elsa Nunez, President at Eastern Connecticut State University; Paul LeBlanc, President at Southern New Hampshire University; Nathan Grawe, Professor of Economics at Carleton College, and Adrianna Kezar, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Pulias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California.

Is tenure still viable?  Has the pandemic triggered an erosion of faculty governance?  What new models of leadership and governance do we need to consider for the years ahead?  These are just a few of the questions we discuss with higher ed's foremost expert on organizational change, governance and leadership, Dr. Adrianna Kezar.  As Dean's Professor of Leadership, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California, Kezar is a prolific author and researcher and is frequently quoted in the media about trends and changes in the higher ed landscape that need to be on our radar. 

Dr. Kezar shares many valuable tools and frameworks during our conversation.  These resources can be found here:

https://pullias.usc.edu/

https://www.acenet.edu/Research-Insights/Pages/Diversity-Inclusion/Equity-Minded-Leadership.aspx

We are very excited about this final episode of season 2 wherein we speak with a highly innovative and wise leader—Scott L. Wyatt—who serves as the 16th president of Southern Utah University.  You may have heard about Wyatt recently—he and his team have just launched the $9,000 bachelor’s degree. What many people don’t know is that this is one of a steady stream of innovations that Wyatt has led during his time at SUU. During our wide ranging conversation we talk about innovation, why it is so hard to innovate in higher ed and what he thinks we all need to be doing right now to remain relevant and competitive.  Wyatt is an American attorney, politician, two-time college president and a former member of the Utah State Legislature.  Effective August 15, 2021, President Wyatt will assume the new position of Senior Executive Director of Statewide Online Education within the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, where he will run Utah’s new system-wide approach to online higher ed programming.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Lynn Pasquerella who, since 2016, has served as the president of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. As a philosopher whose career has combined teaching and scholarship with local and global engagement, Lynn has continuously demonstrated a deep and abiding commitment to ensuring that all students have access to excellence in liberal education, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

In our conversation, Lynn shares how her experience as a first generation college student, then faculty member, provost and eventually college president has shaped her world view and her thinking about higher education and the challenges and opportunities ahead for all of us. For more information about Lynn's background, see here: https://www.aacu.org/president/lynn-pasquerella