You have to have a culture that embraces, supports, and is committed to these students and their success. The second key element is having the people who are committed to the culture. Once you have that platform, then you can start to think about programs. That’s the mindset we’ve brought to this.
Weekly Wisdom is an event series that streams live on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn on Mondays. Each event also becomes a podcast episode. Every week, the UIA joins forces with Inside Higher Ed and talks with a sitting college president or chancellor about how they're specifically navigating the challenges of this moment. These conversations are filled with practicable things you can do right now by unpacking how and why college leaders are making decisions within higher education. These episodes will also leave you with a sense of optimism and inspiration.
We know now the world is much more complicated than we thought. Historic institutions that are non-adaptive are going to have difficulty adjusting to these kinds of high-speed changes. We need to instill the ability to adjust and keep performing our mission as a core part of what we do.
Michael Crow
This is the time when American higher education understands that our strength as a country will be inextricably tied to our success in bringing people from all backgrounds into the problem solving as we face the future.
Freeman Hrabowski, III
We’ve got a lot of important work to make sure that our institutions come through this pandemic and get stronger, at the same time that we address the issues that are right in front of us around systemic racism.
Mark Becker
If you start to address what’s important to people, I think people are going to take you seriously, regardless of if you’re in a room with them, or if you’re doing it virtually.
Frank Dooley
You’ve got to be willing to have courage to have these open and frank discussions, you’ve got to put yourself in a position to foster these kinds of discussions, and sometimes, more often than not, you will listen to your constituency and they will have the better solutions.
Harold L. Martin, Sr.
Weekly Wisdom Interview with Eric Waldo, President and CEO of the District of Columbia College Access Program
Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, speaks with Eric Waldo, President and CEO of the District of Columbia College Access Program (DC-CAP), on the Innovating Together Podcast. Dr. Waldo talks about the dollar value of higher education, finding his way into the White House, stellar leadership examples, and commonsense leadership advice. Topics include:
- Why DC-CAP exists and how it serves the community
- Identifying your mission and betting on your opportunities
- Lessons learned from Arne Duncan, Michelle Obama, and Vivek Murthy
- Playing the long game and getting noticed
- Recommended reading for higher ed leaders
Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, speaks with Aimée Eubanks Davis, Founder and CEO of Braven, on the Innovating Together Podcast. Ms. Eubanks Davis talks about improving the college-to-career pipeline, partnering with institutions, how Braven approaches higher education leaders, the realities of scaling innovation, and advice that has guided her through her own career. Topics include:
- Helping college graduates transition to the workforce
- Helping higher ed institutions help students
- The ideal vs. actual state of campus career advancement services
- The difference between how non-profits and for-profits build on their innovations
- Leadership wisdom and recommended reading
Bridget Burns, CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, and Doug Lederman, Editor and Co-Founder of Inside Higher Ed, speak with Dr. Kevin Kruger, retiring President and CEO of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), on The Innovating Together Podcast. Dr. Kruger reflects on the pleasures and pressures of leadership, how he’s approached his position, his recommendations for practicing and upcoming leaders, and how to prepare for a sea change in higher education. Topics include:
- What he’ll miss and won’t miss about leading NASPA
- Leadership as a craft
- Four pieces of administrative advice for those working in higher ed
- The oncoming “higher ed recession”
- Recommended reading