Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, and Doug Lederman, Editor and Co-Founder of Inside Higher Ed, speak with Dr. Casey Sacks, President of West Virginia’s BridgeValley Community and Technical College, on the Weekly Wisdom Podcast. President Sacks shares the need to balance the view on the ground versus the big picture, her personal leadership journey, some of her proudest accomplishments, strategies for decision making, and the power of both information and knowledge. Topics include:

• Lessons from the U.S. Department of Ed as applied to community colleges

• Taking personal initiative and learning from experience

• Successful advocacy at federal and local levels

• Making confident choices and collaborating with stakeholders

• Read as much as you can, because you never know what might be useful

Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, and Doug Lederman, Editor and Co-Founder of Inside Higher Ed, speak with Dr. Charles Welch, President and CEO, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), on the Weekly Wisdom Podcast. President Welch shares what inspired him to work in the education sector, leadership’s unique perspective, painful decisions for the good of the institution, and the value of authenticity and lived experience. Topics include:

• How leadership can be modeled by kindness, inclusivity, and forward-thinking
• How a college presidency is essentially on-the-job training

• How averting disaster isn’t always a happy ending for everyone

• The position is you; you are not the position

• Leadership can be reinforced through biographies as well as how-to books

Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, and Doug Lederman, Editor and Co-Founder of Inside Higher Ed, speak with Dr. Shonda Gibson, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Texas A&M University, on the Weekly Wisdom Podcast. Dr. Gibson talks about what America needs most from higher education, the operational challenges and rewards for a major university system, how to best serve returning students, and humility and perspective as leadership attributes. Topics include:


• Innovation in higher ed begins with individual faculty and department chairs
• 
Examining the barriers that prevent institutions from putting students first
• Transcending schools’ or departments’ traditional battle for resources
• 
Career advice and recommended reading for higher ed leaders