Episodes

HigherEd PodCon today announced the finalists for its inaugural HigherEd PodCon Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement across five categories in higher education podcasting. The announcement marks a significant milestone for the growing community of educators, administrators, students, and independent creators who are using audio storytelling to advance the mission of higher education. Organized by the co-founders of HigherEd PodCon, of which Dean Hoke of Small College America is a co-found...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President of Augustana College, and I’m joined by my co-host Dean Hoke, Co-Founder of Edu Alliance Group. Today, we’re joined by Jon Marcus, a senior higher education reporter at The Hechinger Report, whose recent reporting has helped bring national attention to a sobering reality: hundreds of small private colleges may be at r...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I’m Dean Hoke, Co-Founder of Edu Alliance Group, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds. Joining us today is Leamor Kahanov, who serves as Provost and Senior Vice President at Alvernia University, a private Franciscan institution in Reading, Pennsylvania. A scholar, administrator, and academic strategist with more than 25 years of experience as a provost, ...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, Co-Founder of Edu Alliance Group, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds, Executive Vice President of Augustana College . Kent: Joining us today is Maximo Flint-Morgan, MBA, who serves as Director of Financial Aid at Le Moyne College, a private Jesuit institution in Syracuse, New York, where he has led the financial aid office within the Div...

Kent Barnds: “Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I’m Kent Barnds, and I’m joined by my co-host, Dean Hoke. ” Dean: Joining us today is Irving “Irv” Bruckstein, a transformational technology executive with more than three decades of experience across higher education, enterprise IT, and cybersecurity. He most recently served as Chief Information Officer at Washington College, where he rebuilt I...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in higher education. I’m Kent Barnds, at Augustana College, and I’m joined by my co-host, Dean Hoke. Our guest today is Dr. Rebecca J. (STOL – FUS), Stoltzfus, the 13th president of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. Rebecca became president in 2017 after serving as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Human Nutrition at Cornell University. Earlier in her career, she taugh...

Kent Barnds: Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in higher education. I'm Kent Barnds, and I’m joined by my co-host, Dean Hoke. Dean Hoke: Our guest today is Michael Sorrell , President of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, which has an enrollment of about 650 students. Michael is the longest-serving leader in the institution’s history. Since taking office in 2007, he has led one of higher education’s most remarkable turnaroun...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds . Kent: Our guest today is Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells, Executive Director of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities, an association representing 28 institutions connected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In this role, he works with presidents and campus leaders across the network to ...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds . Kent: Joining us today is Dr. L. Jay Lemons, President of Academic Search since 2017, following 25 years as a college president in both public and private higher education. He previously served as President of Susquehanna University and as Chancellor of the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, le...

Dean Hoke: “Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds. Kent: We have joining us today, Dr. Wes Brooks, who serves as Vice President and Dean of Student Life at Augustana College, where he leads a wide portfolio supporting student success, including residential life, athletics, counseling services, public safety, and campus engagement. Known for...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Kent Barnds, and I’m joined by my co-host, Dean Hoke . John Gotanda is President of Hawaii Pacific University, the largest private university in Hawai'i, where he leads efforts to strengthen HPU's global identity, expand international partnerships, and advance student success across its diverse, multicultural community. Born and raised in Hawai'i, John br...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in higher education. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds. Eric Page is Chief Client Officer at Carnegie—Higher Ed Marketing & Enrollment, where he leads strategy and solutions that help colleges and universities navigate complex enrollment, marketing, and institutional challenges. With more than 15 years of experience in higher education communications, enrollment strategy...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in higher education. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds. Kent Barnds: Our guest today is Elizabeth A. Rider, President of Elizabethtown College. Elizabeth brings more than 30 years of dedicated service to Elizabethtown, having served as faculty member, Provost, and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs before becoming president in 2022. Since becoming President, she ...

Dean Hoke: Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds. Kent Barnds: Robert Kelchen is a professor of higher education and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research interests include higher education finance, accountability policies, and student financial aid. Kelch...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds. Kent Barnds: Joining us today is Jeff Selingo who has written about colleges and universities for more than 25 years and is a New York Times bestselling author of four books. His latest, New York Tines Best Seller Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You , draws on more than two years of ...

Welcome everyone to this special edition of Small College America. On December 3rd we held a live webinar titled “Navigating Higher Education’s Existential Challenges: From Partnerships and Mergers to Reinvention,” brings together four seasoned leaders deeply involved in higher education strategy, governance, law, and finance. The issues of partnerships, mergers, closures and institutional reinvention are no longer abstract concepts, they’re real challenges shaping daily decision-making. To help...

Joining us today Dr. Karen Petersen is the 13th President of Hendrix College, taking office on June 1, 2023. A native of northwest Arkansas, she joined the Hendrix community from the University of Tulsa, where she served as Dean of the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences and was a professor of political science. Before her time in Tulsa, Karen spent 16 years at her undergraduate alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University, rising through progressively senior leadership roles and ultimat...

Today's guest is Dr. Raj Bellani, Vice President of External Affairs, Career Outcomes, and Chief of Staff at Denison University in Ohio. At Denison, Raj plays a key role in advancing the university’s strategic plan—strengthening its global engagement, enhancing faculty and staff mentoring, and promoting innovation and wellness across campus. Before arriving in Granville, Raj served as Dean of Experiential Learning and Career Planning at DePauw University’s Hubbard Center for Student Engagement, ...

Kent Barnds: Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Kent Barnds, and I’m joined by my co-host, Dean Hoke. Dean Hoke: Kristen Soares is the fourth president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU), representing more than 85 nonprofit institutions dedicated to the public good. As president, she works with leaders across the state to shape higher education p...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds . Today, we’re joined by Michael H. Scarlett, Professor of Education at Augustana College. Michael supervises student teachers and teaches educational psychology and assessment, social studies methods, and educational technology. Before coming to Augustana, he spent four years on the faculty at Montana ...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Kent Barnds, and I’m joined by my co-host, Dean Hoke. Dean: Our guest today is Dr. Teresa Valerio Parrot, APR, the Principal of TVP Communications. She is co-host of the Trusted Voices Podcast and co-editor of Call to Action for Inside Higher Ed , has numerous media bylines, and is a frequent keynote speaker. She is writing a book on higher-education gove...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds . Today, we are speaking with Dr. Josh Hibbard, a higher education leader, strategist, and storyteller passionate about helping students and families navigate one of life’s biggest decisions: choosing a college. As Vice President for Enrollment Management at Whitworth University, located in Spokane, Was...

Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds . Today, we are speaking with Jon Nichols, an author and educator whose work explores the intersection of personal narrative and institutional collapse in American higher education. He is the author of Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States , a deeply reflect...

Today, we are speaking with Dr. Frank Shushok Jr., the 12th president of Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, since 2022. He collaborates with the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and regional partners to position the College as an agile, innovative, and learner-centered institution. Under his leadership, the College launched Imagine Roanoke, a strategic plan that includes creating four transdisciplinary schools and transforming the residential campus into a 21st-century lear...