Life in Higher Ed
by Denise Nelson Nash & Herminio L. Perez
Latest episode
What Higher Ed Needs: authentic optimism
What Higher Ed Needs: authentic optimism
About this podcast
Welcome to Life in Higher Ed. We are senior higher education administrators and combined we have over 50 years of experience. We are here to talk about what goes on behind the scenes on college and university campuses. We surface the interesting, the confounding, and the seemingly absurd, and we do so with honesty and a sprinkling of humor. We want to help you not only survive but thrive and to know that you are not alone in your journey. If you are an administrator in higher ed or considering becoming an administrator, this podcast is for you!
Episodes
The newest 20 of 28 episodes
- What Higher Ed Needs: authentic optimism · 37 min · Season 4 Episode 4Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Devorah Lieberman, PhD, shares what real optimism looks like in higher ed today. Dr. Lieberman led the University of La Verne for twelve years…
- Higher Ed Futures: Possibilities, Vision, Options - Bryan Alexander · 57 min · Season 4 Episode 3Send us Fan Mail Higher education is navigating a polycrisis, a confluence of demographic shifts, economic instability, political hostility, and technological disruption that has…
- If you can't tell the story, how can you lead? - Trisha Beck and Denise Nelson Nash · 29 min · Season 4 Episode 2Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we explore why the ability to craft and share meaningful stories is essential to effective leadership, sense‑making, and trust‑building in…
- Academic Freedom: then vs now - Jonathan Friedman and Amy Reid · 48 min · Season 4 Episode 1Send us Fan Mail More than half of U.S. college students now attend institutions in states where new laws and policies restrict what can be taught and how campuses can operate…
- Faculty Mentoring: what mentees need today - R. Todd Benson · 47 min · Season 3 Episode 7Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with R. Todd Benson from COACHE (Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education) to explore what makes faculty mentoring…
- In crisis and calm: building an essential partnership with your institution's legal counsel - Guilherme Costa · 45 min · Season 3 Episode 6Send us Fan Mail From navigating routine compliance challenges to managing full-blown institutional crises, discover how administrators cultivate strategic partnerships with…
- Beyond the application: the changing face of college admissions - Kent Barnds · 35 min · Season 3 Episode 5Send us Fan Mail With recent shifts in federal and state policies, legal rulings, and evolving demographics, how are institutions adapting their approaches to student recruitment…
- Resilience Redefined: Leading in Turbulent Times - Ralph Gigliotti · 34 min · Season 3 Episode 4Send us Fan Mail When chaos strikes, how do leaders step up, steady the ship, and guide their organizations toward resilience and renewal? This is on the minds of leaders across…
- Higher education and politics: finding your path in 2025 - Teresa Valerio Parrot · 34 min · Season 3 Episode 3Send us Fan Mail Things have become more complicated for higher education in 2025, with executive orders, grant terminations, funding reductions, and investigations. This isn't…
- DEI: Why is it being used to divide America? - Dr. Daryl G. Smith · 44 min · Season 3 Episode 2Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we delve into the attacks on DEI with Dr. Daryl G. Smith, author of Diversity's Promise for Higher Education. Dr. Smith discusses the complex…
- Unbias: Unconscious bias at work - Stacey A. Gordon · 37 min · Season 3 Episode 1Send us Fan Mail In this episode Stacey Gordon, founder and principal consultant of Rework Work and author of Unbias: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work, Stacey commented, “The…
- Decoding Higher Ed - Nana Kofi Nti and Mashama Thompson · 43 min · Season 2 Episode 7Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Nana Kofi Nti and Mashama Thompson, co-founders of 510 Media, discuss the challenges facing colleges and universities in the attention economy…
- Navigating Higher Ed: persistence, perseverance, and promise - Nadege Dady · 38 min · Season 2 Episode 5Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Nadege Dady, dean of Student Affairs and assistant professor for the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Harlem, NYC campus, talks about…
- AI in higher ed: resistance is futile - James Spellos · 35 min · Season 2 Episode 6Send us Fan Mail In this episode, James Spellos, president of Meeting U, talks about generative AI and addresses the concern many educators have voiced, "So it's never going to…
- Justice education: learning across differences - Dr. Kimberly Drake and Bernie Hernandez · 41 min · Season 2 Episode 4Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Professor Kim Drake and Bernie Hernandez discuss the Inside-Out Justice Initiative and the transformative impact of educational exchange…
- Student success; everyone's responsibility - Bernie Savarese · 34 min · Season 2 Episode 3Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Bernie Savarese, vice president for Academic Affairs, Research, and Student Success at the University of Tennessee System, talks about the…
- The college presidency: educational access and workforce development - President Aisha Francis · 31 min · Season 2 Episode 2Send us Fan Mail In the episode, Dr. Aisha Francis, President and CEO of the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, talks about access to education and workforce…
- From faculty to administration: making the shift - Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert · 37 min · Season 2 Episode 1Send us Fan Mail In the episode, Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert, provost at the University of the Pacific, talks about making the transition from faculty member to chief academic…
- Navigating leadership transitions - Brian Steeves · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 10Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Brian Steeves, executive director of the board of regents and corporate secretary of the University of Minnesota, talks about leadership…
- Embracing a strategic mindset - Binti Harvey · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 9Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Binti Harvey talks about developing and using a strategic mindset, "I've seen people grow in this way of thinking when they have clarity about…
