Dr. JP Novin speaks with Dr. Eric Kaler, President of Case Western Reserve University, about higher education, human capital, and the accelerating impact of AI innovation. Dr. Kaler discusses Case Western Reserve’s continued focus on the traditional 18–22-year-old undergraduate experience and why the four-year model remains critical for student development. He also highlights the university’s growth as an R1 research institution, particularly in AI and data science. The conversation explores how AI is reshaping the workforce, the importance of ensuring students are AI literate, and how advances in AI are driving changes in pedagogy and assessment across higher education.

Dr. JP Novin speaks with Dr. Joseph Chillo about the impact of AI on higher education and the future workforce. Dr. Chillo outlines Thomas More University’s strategy for embedding AI and technology across the curriculum, grounded in ethical responsibility and Catholic values. The conversation explores how the university is adapting traditional academic structures through stackable credentials and flexible pathways while reinforcing the long-term value and ROI of a liberal arts education. Dr. Chillo also discusses the evolving role of faculty, shifting from content delivery to guiding students in how to critically evaluate and effectively use information, including AI-generated content.

Dr. JP Novin speaks with Dr. Christina Clark, President of La Roche University, about the institution’s mission to prepare students as engaged global and U.S. citizens and its expanding international initiatives. The conversation explores the growing impact of AI on higher education and the workforce, with Dr. Clark outlining La Roche’s response to the “fourth industrial revolution” through a faculty-first approach, an AI Academy, and the integration of AI literacy and ethical use across the curriculum, including a required AI literacy certificate for graduating seniors. Together, Dr. Clark and Dr. Novin emphasize the importance of pairing technological skills with essential human skills such as critical thinking, communication, and judgment, while addressing the rapid acceleration of AI-driven workforce change, which Dr. Clark describes as a looming crisis that will require broader government action.

JP Novin welcomes Danielle Wilken, President of the University of Bridgeport, and Elena Cahill, Vice President of Strategic Planning, Innovation, and Advancement, for a conversation on AI in higher education. The discussion explores how the University of Bridgeport is integrating AI into its curriculum as an essential tool for the future workforce, highlighting initiatives such as AI and Robotics labs, co-located advanced manufacturing centers, and a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence. Wilken and Cahill emphasize the importance of blending liberal arts skills with career-ready training, responding to rapid job displacement through microcredentialing, and maintaining a strong focus on industry partnerships and student entrepreneurship.

Dr. JP Novin talks with Dr. Jeffrey Docking about the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in business, research, and higher education. Dr. Docking shares how Adrian College integrates AI across the curriculum, including the creation of RISE Education to support shared courses and new academic pathways. The conversation focuses on higher education’s responsibility to prepare students for an AI-driven future by emphasizing uniquely human skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, decision-making, and ethical reasoning, while also preparing learners for emerging roles in AI compliance and ethics. Dr. Docking also discusses the importance of curriculum redesign and explains how Adrian’s enrollment success is driven by pairing technical degrees with a strong co-curricular experience.

Dr. JP Novin talks with Brien Lewis, President of Transylvania University, about how artificial intelligence is shaping higher education and the future workforce. President Lewis explains how Transylvania adapts its curriculum to emphasize critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, while taking a balanced approach to AI by encouraging students to learn and use the tools in some contexts and restricting their use in others to ensure independent skill development. He highlights new initiatives such as a Data Analytics program and an accelerated three-year degree option, and frames the current moment as a shift into a “conceptual age,” where empathy and ethics become increasingly valuable. The conversation also explores Transylvania’s investment in digital liberal arts, its consideration of process-based grading, and its partnership with the University of Kentucky to support innovation and student success.

Dr. JP Novin talks with President Derek Brown of Barclay College about the institution’s mission, faith-based and vocational focus, and its tuition-free model supported by donor contributions. President Brown discusses the enrollment challenges tied to Barclay’s remote location and its commitment to maintaining a clear institutional identity, as well as the college’s cautious, consensus-driven approach to integrating artificial intelligence in education. He explains how Barclay emphasizes a humanities-centered curriculum and teaches students to use AI as a “junior research assistant” to support ethical reasoning, creativity, and quality control, while reflecting on the broader implications of AI for the future workforce, ministry, and the evolving nature of academic research.

Dr. JP Novin talks with Aaron Sadoff, President of Marian University, about how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education and the future workforce. President Sadoff shares how his background in K–12 education informs Marian University’s transformation around AI, with a focus on preparing learners to be “best for the world.” The conversation highlights the growing importance of foundational skills, critical thinking, and adaptability as automation reshapes entry-level jobs, and explores how Marian is responding through AI-adjacent majors, evolving faculty roles centered on higher-level teaching, and the Marian Promise, which guarantees tuition stability. Together, they emphasize the need for institutions to collaborate in teaching AI as an essential skill set to support student success and equity.

Dr. JP Novin talks to Dr. Kate Smith, President of Rio Salado College, about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce and redefining the role of higher education. Dr. Smith explains that AI is not replacing most jobs but fundamentally changing them, making adaptability and continuous learning essential. She emphasizes the need for institutions to prioritize durable skills such as data literacy, critical thinking, communication, and learning how to learn, noting that graduates will enter careers that will evolve rapidly. Dr. Smith also argues that traditional degree structures must shift toward more flexible, skills-based and lifelong learning models, supported by micro-credentials and ongoing reskilling, while human-centered skills, ethical judgment, and the ability to question AI-generated information remain critical as higher education integrates AI into teaching and learning.

Dr. JP Novin welcomes Dr. Mahesh Daas, President of Boston Architectural College, to the podcast to discuss AI’s impact on higher education and the future workforce. Dr. Novin highlights Plexuss’s role in enrollment marketing and shares his pursuit of a doctorate in higher education. Dr. Daas provides an overview of Boston Architectural College’s 137-year history and its distinctive work-integrated educational model, along with the institution’s scholarly focus on robotics, AI, and design computation, including works such as Towards Robotic Architecture.

Their conversation frames AI as the fourth industrial revolution, using the SMR framework, and explores how creative and cognitive work is increasingly vulnerable, while human excellence and the bespoke, relationship-driven nature of architecture continue to hold value. Dr. Daas emphasizes that education must prioritize “learning to learn” in order to adapt to collaboration with nonhuman intelligences and that experimentation through “sandboxes” is essential before regulation. He further stresses the responsibility of leadership to ensure that rapid AI adoption does not deepen social inequity by creating a divide between “humans with AI” and “humans without AI,” urging thoughtful, critical engagement with AI to empower individuals and society during this period of disruption.