Before beginning his role as Trinity Christian College’s president in July 2015, President Dykstra served as mayor of the City of Holland, Michigan, and as the senior vice president and community president of Mercantile Bank of Michigan. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Marquette Law School, he was a judicial law clerk for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and practiced law for 15 years.  President Dykstra also was a part-time member of the faculty at Hope College and served on the board of Northwestern College (Iowa), his alma mater.

In this recent episode of Rebuilding the American Dream, President Dykstra discusses the experiences that shaped his leadership style; how he and Trinity Christian College are finding new paths to adapt to the future of higher education and the importance of nurturing the totality of a person - brain, body, spirit and soul - for the betterment of the person, institution and surrounding community.

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As a registered pharmacist, Dr. Cynthia Warrick is highly skilled at recommending treatments and remedies. Now in her historic career as an HBCU president, Dr. Warrick continues to be a problem solver and stabilizer in distressed environments. 

Dr. Warrick is a native of San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Howard University with the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, and completed the Masters of Science in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Doctorate in Environmental Science & Public Policy from George Mason University.  

 The first female president of Stillman College joins the Rebuilding the American Dream Podcast where she discusses her drive for entering higher education leadership; the need to connect students to career and industries sooner and the importance of the general education core for holistic education. 

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Dr. Julie Basler is President of Platt College in Aurora, Colorado. Prior to coming to Platt College in 2007, Dr. Basler served as the Coordinator of Fine Arts and Associate Professor of English and Speech Communications at Columbia State Community College in middle Tennessee for nearly a decade.  Dr. Basler earned her degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin, Murray State University in Kentucky, and Middle Tennessee State University.

Fiercely proud of, and grateful for, her upbringing and education in small communities, Dr. Basler shares in this episode why individualized mentorship is life changing, helping  all students to feel valued; the importance of allowing our students to make, and correct, mistakes; and then celebrating the successes - especially the small ones. 

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Kelly Damphousse was appointed Chancellor at Arkansas State University in 2017. The Canadian native, the first in his family to attend college, knows first-hand the profound impact higher education can have on a lifetime. Prior to joining A-State, Chancellor Damphousse was at Oklahoma University where he was Dean of the College of Arts and Science. Accessible to all, his personal touch with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the A-State community is a Damphousse hallmark.

In this conversation, Chancellor Damphousse discusses the changing landscape of college athletics; the growth of online Instruction and the continuing importance of in-person classes; and finding ways to help students to understand the value proposition of college. He also shares his thoughts on what "The American Dream" means and how a college education is central to that success. 

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Nicholas Perrin is President at Trinity International University. Appointed to the role in 2019, he became the 16th President of the evangelical Christian university headquartered in Illinois. Before this, he served as Franklin S. Dyrness Professor of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College, and also as dean of Wheaton Graduate School for five years. In this conversation, President Perrin discusses diversity on campus - why it’s so crucial and how it can shape the conversation around academic freedom; explains how colleges are missing an opportunity to create “meaningful contact” for students through mentorship; and describes the United States as somewhere that people can rise “from the bottom to the top”, with higher education as a valuable safety net.

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Dr. Guiyou Huang is president of Western Illinois University. Appointed to the role this year, he is focused on increasing student attendance and retention, and encouraging University innovation. Prior to this, he spent nearly four decades at educational institutions in China and the United States. In this conversation, Dr. Huang reflects on his unexpected path into the higher education sphere - how he never initially intended to become a teacher, nor a University president, and what then attracted him to the sector; explores the wide variety of barriers that he feels are currently standing in the way of potential students feeling University is right for them; and explains the work he and his institution are doing to drive forward inclusivity, and remove some of the current obstacles for the next generation of college-bound students.

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Nouman Kante is student body president at Southern Utah University. He was elected into this role in March last year, and is currently in his second term. A business student, he completed his undergraduate degree in business and is now pursuing his MBA. His role is to act as a bridge between students and the administration, by representing the interest of the whole community. In this conversation, Nouman discusses his own experience attending College and the difficulties he found adapting to this new environment; explains why he was motivated to, and wants to encourage others to partake in student government; and shares the role scholarships played in encouraging him to attend College in the first instance, and the many financial barriers that still exist.  

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Ephraim Kum is student body president at University of Utah. Working on a major in political science, he was elected into the role earlier this year. A US immigrant who left Ghana aged one, he is the third Black student body president, and the first Ghanian-born president in the University’s history. His student voice work centers around affordability, transparency, connectivity and being able to “redefine the access students have.” In this conversation, Ephraim delves into his College experience so far, and the breadth of opportunity he’s been given in this; describes how Utah are adapting to the changing needs of its students, particularly moving towards a hybrid model of education; and explains why Government need to better prioritise higher education, with cost still being a huge barrier that makes the experience exclusive, rather than as it should be, inclusive. 

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Dr Beth Akers is an academic, author and economist. Currently a resident at the American Enterprise Institute, she was formerly a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and staff economist with the ‘Council of Economic Advisors’ under President George W. Bush. Also a writer, she co-authored ‘Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt,’ and her writing has also been featured in; The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. In this conversation, Beth shares her opinion on why access to higher education is so important - as a key driver for country-wide social mobility; describes the significant role innovation plays in the sector, and how this has been forcefully encouraged by the pandemic; and explains why she thinks College isn’t too expensive, but too risky, and how we can begin minimising this risk. 

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Danielle Corbett is student body president at Utah Valley University. In her current position, she focuses on taking a systemic approach to combat social problems; centered around mental health, sustainability and accessibility to educational opportunities. Danielle is the first female student to be elected into the role since the 90s, and is proud of UVU’s mission to “come as you are.” In this conversation, Danielle reflects on being a first-generation student, and the people who inspired her into higher education; explains the significance of representation in student government, and how vital it is that all students feel comfortable and accounted for; and discusses some of the obstacles preventing young people from applying for College - namely a lack of education around financial aid, and concerns of accumulating student loan debt. 

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