EdUp Innovation

🎙️ In Episode 32 of EdUp Innovation, Brad sits down with Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College, for a powerful conversation about the future of community college reform.

📚 Drawing from her book, Beyond the College Walls, Pam explores how guided pathways, meta majors, food pantries, child care, case management, onboarding, and academic wraparound planning help students thrive.

🏙️ Although Bunker Hill sits in the physical shadow of Harvard, its work is moving the needle for 17,000 students in ways that are deeply meaningful and transformative. As a gateway institution serving Boston’s immigrant communities, BHCC carries a special responsibility to create opportunity.

🌎 Tune in for an honest, energizing conversation about the partnerships, policies, and bold innovations community colleges need to help students succeed.

🚀 What happens when innovation, agility, and human-centered design come together? In Episode 31 of the EdUp Innovation Podcast, Brad sits down with Tracy Clark, CEO of Building Thinkers, to explore the power of partnership and the future of higher education. 🎓✨

Brad and Tracy unpack their work together at San Francisco Bay University, including the Agility Praxis Pathway (APP) General Education and the new MBA Pro+, a human-centered, flexibly-paced online MBA available for just $10,000. 💡💻

Tune in for big ideas, bold possibilities, and a behind-the-scenes look at how Building Thinkers and SFBU are reimagining higher education. 🔥

🎙️ Episode 30: AI, Soft Skills & the Future of Learning

Brad sits down with Sayre Blake, Technical Founder of SkillSaige, to explore how AI can help people get their reps in 💪—building stronger soft skills, interpersonal communication, and real-world confidence.

They dig into the future of training, higher education, teaching & learning 🎓🤖, why AI token conservationmatters, and take a few glorious sidequests into 📼 old-school VHS, the history of technology, and Sayre’s fascination with Cyberpunk pulp fiction 🌃⚡.

It’s AI, education, communication, and a little retro-tech weirdness—all in one conversation. 🚀

🎙️ EdUp Innovation, Episode 29: Brad sits down with Dr. David Rosowsky to explore how Arizona State University is reimagining innovation, preparing to serve the students of tomorrow, and leading higher education into the future.

🤖 AI
⚡ Accelerated degrees
🎓 The “60-year degree”

🚀 Bonus: Interplanetary travel -- Brad and David geek out over For All Mankind and what the future beyond Earth could look like in an alternate timeline of events! 🌎➡️🪐

🎓 Brad sits down with Dr. Sylvester Williams to explore his unconventional path to academia, the impact of technological disruption, and what today’s business students really need to succeed. 🤖 They also discuss AI’s growing role in education and how faculty at East Stroudsburg University are responding. 🏀 Bonus: a conversation about Michael Jordan!

🎙️ Brad sits down with Alex Cortez, Strategic Advisor at Bellwether for a fast-moving conversation on the future of higher ed.

They dig into how colleges can better serve underrepresented students, the real ROI of a degree, AI’s impact on learning, and how higher ed can build stronger workforce pipelines. 🚀

Equity, innovation, access, outcomes, and what comes next. This is one you’ll want to hear. 🎧

🎙️ EdUp Innovation, Episode 26 is here! 🚀

In this episode, Brad talks with Dr. Angie Besendorfer, Chief Learner Experience and Success Officer at UMGC, about what it really takes to support more than 100,000 online learners 🌎💻📚

Together, they explore UMGC’s continuous improvement cycle 🔁, the future of online learning 🔮, and how AI can be infused into the design and improvement of the learner experience 🤖✨

What does ACTUAL curricular modernization look like? 🎯 What is next-generation learning at scale? 📈 Can AI grade student work with less bias than human faculty? 🤔 And how can institutions give learners more ways to engage through CBE, time-bound courses, stackable credentials, flexible pacing, or a mix-and-match model based on learner preferences? 🧩🎓⏱️

Angie also shares what she is reading, Getting to Yes, and connects its lessons on negotiation, listening, and shared problem-solving to the work of UMGC 📖💡

Listen in for a practical, future-focused conversation about online learning, AI, learner success, and the bold work of designing education around the needs of today’s students 🌟

🎙️In this landmark episode of EdUp Innovation, Brad interviews his first non-human guest: Alma, San Francisco Bay University’s Socratic AI tutor. Together, they dive into the future of AI in higher education, from hallucinations and academic integrity to personalized learning, institutional trust, and the difference between training and true education. 🎓

Alma makes the case for AI as a human-centered tool that amplifies faculty reach rather than replacing faculty expertise. The conversation moves fast, covering pedagogy, emotions, interpretation, tech oligarchs, the 90-credit degree, and what it means to build education for a world moving at Silicon Valley speed. ⚡

At SFBU, the future of education is not just automated. It is thoughtful, ethical, personalized, and deeply human. 🚀

🚀 In Episode 24 of the EdUp Innovation Podcast, Brad sits down with Dr. Paul LeBlanc, former president of Southern New Hampshire University, to unpack SNHU’s rocket ride to hyperscale, the transferable innovations higher ed needs now, and what AI means for the future of learning. 🎓🤖 Tune in for a bold conversation on transformation, scale, and what’s next for higher education.

🎙️ In episode 23, Brad sits down with Elliot Felix, author of The Connected College, for a dynamic conversation on what it takes to build more connected, student-centered institutions.

📘 The Connected College
💡 Innovation
🧭 Strategy
🌱 Culture
🚀 Leadership

Tune in for insights on reimagining higher education through connection, collaboration, and purposeful change.

What does real innovation in higher education actually look like right now? 🎓🚀

In Episode 22, Jake Weissbourd dives into the future of higher ed with Brad through the lens of FOHE, unpacking the bold ideas institutions are still ignoring and why true innovation is so hard to adopt. As AI reshapes learning 🤖, the conversation also tackles a critical tension. How do colleges balance powerful new technologies with meaningful human interaction that drives purpose, connection, and growth?

If you care about where learning is headed next, this one pushes the conversation forward.

🎙️ In Episode 21, Brad sits down with renowned learning scientist Lauren Waldman to unpack what higher education is getting right ✅ and getting wrong ❌ when it comes to teaching, learning, and designing student experiences.

Expect sharp insights, honest critique, and big ideas for building learning that actually works 🚀🎓🧠

🎙️ In Episode 20, Brad Fuster welcomes Dr. Neal Barnard, President of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), back to EdUp Innovation to break down a major shift in medical education 📚

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is calling for nutrition training for all medical students. 🩺 But what should that training include?

Dr. Barnard calls for curricula rooted in strong scientific evidence 🔬 and free from industry influence 🚫

A timely and thought-provoking conversation on policy, education, and the future of patient care.

🤖 AI is rewriting the rules—and students might be ahead of the curve 👀🎓

In Episode 19 of EdUp Innovation 🎙️, Brad sits down with Mike Spaeth, Global Vice President at the United States Artificial Intelligence Institute (USAII) to dive into:
🚀 where AI is headed in higher ed
🧠 why students may know more than faculty
🚗 the future of transportation
🎧💀 and yes… the official death of the mixtape

Fast, fun, and packed with “wait… that’s actually happening?!” moments ⚡

🎙️ EdUp Innovation Episode 18 is here! Brad Fuster sits down with longtime friend and educational leadership guru Dr. Joe Hill to dive into the connection between leadership and innovation 🚀

They explore what fuels innovation 🔥, what holds it back 🧱 , and what the future of leadership could look like 🌍

If you care about leading change and driving impact, this episode is for you 🎧

🎙️ What happens when visionary leadership meets real-world learning—and a little AI curiosity? 🤔

In this episode, Brad sits down with Dr. Jim DeLung, Dean of Career & Technical Education at the Community College of Aurora (CCA), for a dynamic conversation on:

🔥 Inspirational leadership at CCA
Featuring President Mordecai Brownlee and Provost Bobby Pace

🔧 Work-based learning that works
From hands-on programs to powerful partnerships with Mara “Red” Woody (Riipen) and Zach Kinzler (BoodleBox AI)

🤖 AI meets the trades
Exploring the future of fields like diesel tech—and why AI isn’t replacing, but enhancing, skilled labor

💼 Earn & Learn in action
A standout collaboration with Wagner Equipment that’s redefining student success

🎬 Bonus: Terminator talk!
Yes… things get fun at the end with a dive into AI, robots, and pop culture 👀

👉 Listen now & get inspired!

🎧🔥 Music Innovation in the Music Curriculum 🔥🎧

🚨 Music education is changing. Fast. And if your curriculum is stuck in the past, it is already losing.

Host Brad Fuster links up with his longtime friend Dr. Lynn Vartan, Professor of Percussion Interarts Performance at Texas A&M, to talk real innovation in higher ed music programs. 🎶⚡

🥁 Backstory? They go way back. Brad and Lynn were percussion doctoral students together at the University of Southern California, learning and building the foundation that shaped how they think about performance and pedagogy. 🎓

💡 What this episode hits:
🎼 Music curriculum innovation that actually matters
🏛️ How universities can stop playing it safe
🧠 Rethinking what music students need to thrive now
🥁 Percussion, interarts, and breaking the old rules

If you care about the future of music programs, press play. 🎧💣

Higher education is at a crossroads. Compliance is not excellence. Survival is not strategy. 🚀

In this bold conversation, Brad Fuster and Mara “Red” Woody, Ed.D. confront the forces reshaping the sector: shifting student demographics, the surge of adult learners, workforce alignment, and the rapid rise of AI transforming how we teach, lead, and operate.

They unpack change management that actually works, the tension between regulation and reinvention, and spotlight exemplar leaders like Sylvester Williams at East Stroudsburg University and Sean Armstrong at Washington University who prove that culture and courage fuel real transformation. 🔥

If you believe higher education must evolve to lead in an AI-powered, learner-driven world, this episode is for you. 🎙️

🎙️ Innovation and accreditation collide in Episode 14 of EdUp Innovation. Brad Fuster sits down with his friend Dr. Greg Pillar, Assistant Provost at Gardner-Webb University, for a no-nonsense conversation about how higher ed is changing and who’s feeling the pressure.

They dig into:
🎓 90-credit bachelor’s degrees
🏫 Institutional closures and mergers
🧩 Microcredentials and alternative pathways
🤖 AI and academic quality
🔄 Switching accreditors and new accrediting models
🏛️ Growing federal pressure to deregulate higher education

If you care about the future of higher ed, this episode goes straight to the fault lines. Listen in.

In Episode 13 of EdUp Innovation, Brad Fuster sits down with Dr. Neal Barnard, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), for a sharp conversation on innovation in medical education, public policy, and health care.

The discussion opens with a core question facing higher education today: what is the single biggest gap in nutrition training for medical students, and how is PCRM helping institutions close it? Dr. Barnard explains how evidence-based nutrition education is reshaping how future physicians are trained and why a whole-food, plant-based diet is central to prevention, treatment, and longevity.

Brad and Dr. Barnard then explore how innovation moves from idea to impact, including PCRM’s role in helping New York create a statewide nutrition CME resource library for physicians and the outcomes policymakers are now targeting. The conversation also covers landmark legislation in California and New York requiring hospitals to offer plant-based meal options, what it took to pass those bills, and where PCRM is pushing next.

Beyond hospitals, the episode looks at the federal and state policies PCRM is backing to improve school nutrition, including expanding access to nondairy milk. The conversation closes by examining how PCRM’s successes in modernizing research and training, including replacing animal use with human-relevant methods, intersect with stronger nutrition education and better patient care.

🎧 A must-listen for educators, health professionals, and innovators interested in how higher education can lead real-world change.

Episode 12 of the EdUp Innovation Podcast features Rebeka Mazzone, CEO of FutureEd Finance, in a candid conversation with host Brad Fuster about what it really takes for higher education to survive and thrive amid strong headwinds. 🎓💡

Together, Brad and Rebeka explore the critical relationship between price, outcomes, and innovation, unpack who is positioned to endure the current disruption in higher ed and who is not.

The episode spotlights innovation in challenger brand institutions including Unity Environmental University, San Francisco Bay University, NewU University, and The Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship.

Rebeka dives into the dollars and cents behind where innovation is actually working, why financial alignment matters, and how smart investment in outcomes-driven models is essential for the future of higher education.

Recorded live and in person from a hotel bar in Indianapolis during the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Chief Academic Officer’s Institute, Dr. Brad Fuster sits down with Zach Kinzler of BoodleBox AI for a wide-ranging, real-time conversation about the future of artificial intelligence.

Together, Brad and Zach explore how AI is reshaping higher education, transforming the workforce, and accelerating changes across society at large. From practical applications on today’s campuses to what institutions and leaders should be preparing for next, this episode dives into what’s already happening, and what’s coming faster than we expect.

Unfiltered, timely, and recorded in the middle of the noise and action, this episode captures the urgency, opportunity, and complexity of AI’s next chapter.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Where AI is headed in higher education

• How AI is redefining skills and work

• What institutional leaders need to understand now

• What’s likely coming next—and how to prepare

Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and join the conversation.

Networked Learning for What Comes Next

On this episode of EdUp Innovation, we’re joined by Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute, for a fast-paced conversation on reimagining learning through prosocial navigation and network-activated learning. Julia unpacks how relationships, access, and social capital shape student success and why innovation in education must go beyond content to focus on connections.

From disrupting traditional models to designing systems that help learners build meaningful networks, this episode is a must-listen for education leaders and innovators thinking about the future of learning.

In this episode of EdUp Innovation, Brad Fuster sits down with Helen Crompton, Professor of Instructional Technology at Old Dominion University and globally recognized expert in educational AI, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming teaching, learning, and the future of higher education.

Brad and Helen dive into her influential work with the United Nations, where she has helped shape international conversations on ethical AI use in education. Helen also breaks down her groundbreaking Social Framework for AI Pedagogy and Policy, a model that helps institutions navigate AI adoption with a focus on equity, transparency, and responsible innovation.

Helen shares practical classroom examples, tools educators can begin using immediately, and thoughtful cautions about bias, privacy, and global disparities. Brad and Helen also look forward, imagining what colleges and universities could become if they embrace AI as a partner in expanding human learning potential.

Whether you’re a professor, academic leader, policymaker, or simply curious about the future of education, this episode offers clear frameworks, expert insights, and an inspiring vision for the next chapter of higher ed.

In this episode, Dr. Brad Fuster sits down with Dr. Melik Khoury, the transformative leader behind Unity Environmental University’s remarkable 10x growth during one of the most challenging decades in higher education.

Dr. Khoury opens the conversation by reframing the role of governance as the strategic backbone that enabled Unity to pivot, innovate, and scale. Together, Dr. Fuster and Dr. Khoury unpack how modernizing governance structures became the catalyst for new operational models, market-aligned programming, and a university-wide culture of adaptability.

Listeners will hear how Unity:

• Reimagined governance to accelerate decision-making and unlock institutional agility

• Built a student-centric ecosystem centered on environmental resilience and learner access

• Adopted data-informed strategies that fueled expansion while preserving academic quality

• Overcame sector-wide headwinds—demographic declines, funding pressures, and shifting student expectations—through intentional structures, not luck

Dr. Khoury also reflects on the leadership philosophy required to steer a higher-ed institution through volatility: transparency, shared purpose, and the courage to rethink legacy models.

Whether you're a trustee, president, faculty leader, or higher-ed innovator, this conversation offers a blueprint for governance-driven transformation and a glimpse into what the next generation of universities might look like.

🎙️ Digital Innovation, AI, and the Future of Higher Ed with Phil Komarny

In this episode, Brad Fuster sits down with Phil Komarny, Chief Future Officer at Maryville University, for a forward-looking conversation on how technology is reshaping the student experience and the institutions that serve them.

Phil, renowned for his leadership in digital transformation, AI strategy, and human-centered technology design, shares insights from decades of work at the intersection of education, data, and innovation. Together, we explore:

✨ Digital Innovation in Higher Ed
How universities can shift from legacy systems to agile, student-centric digital ecosystems that truly empower learners.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence in Teaching & Learning
The real opportunities (and common myths) about AI—plus practical use cases already accelerating student success.

🗂️ Data Governance Done Right
Why data trust, transparency, and ethical frameworks are the foundation of effective AI—and how institutions can build them.

🎓 The Future of Higher Education
From lifelong learning to “education as a service,” Phil outlines what tomorrow’s universities must become to stay relevant and inclusive.

Whether you’re an educator, administrator, technologist, or simply curious about where higher ed is heading, this is a must-listen conversation with one of the field’s most visionary leaders.

Tune in and discover how intentional innovation can unlock a more equitable and dynamic future for learners everywhere.

Carolyn Stern, CEO of EI Experience and author of The Emotionally Strong Leader, joins the EdUp Innovation Podcast to unpack how emotional intelligence drives real change in higher ed. We dig into practical EI habits for higher education faculty and leaders and discuss how to lead through uncertainty without burning out teams, and the playbook for building brave, people-centered campus cultures. Carolyn shares candid stories, actionable frameworks, and quick wins you can use this semester to elevate trust, performance, and student success. Tune in for a masterclass on leading with heart and getting measurable results that drive innovation.

In this episode of The EdUp Innovation Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Jose Antonio Bowen, author of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning. As fellow music professors, Jose and I explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the teaching and learning experience across disciplines.

We dive into the opportunities and challenges AI presents in higher education, discuss how educators can embrace technology without losing the human element, and reflect on what our experiences in music have taught us about creativity, adaptability, and innovation in the classroom.

🎧 Join me for a dynamic conversation about how we can teach with AI—not against it—and prepare students for a future where human connection and technology work in harmony.

Why does higher education resist innovation—even when survival depends on it? In this episode of EdUp Innovation, host Brad Fuster talks with Brian Rosenberg, author of Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education and former president of Macalester College. Together they explore the cultural and structural barriers holding colleges back, the tension between tradition and progress, and what a truly reinvented university might look like.

From leadership paralysis to the myth of academic exceptionalism, Rosenberg shares candid insights on why reform is so hard—and how courageous leaders can make it happen.

🎧 Tune in for an honest, forward-looking conversation about the future of higher ed, disruption, and the courage to innovate.

Dr. Benjamin Kwitek, Director of Innovation at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, shares his career journey and thoughts on innovation and future directions for higher education.

Hear from President Stratsi Kulinski, founder of NewU University in Washington, DC. Learn about the push for 3-year undergraduate degrees and other higher education innovations that support success.

In this inaugural episode of EdUp Innovation, Brad Fuster sits down with Ben Nelson, Founder of Minerva Project and Minerva University. They talk about innovation in higher education, the three common barriers to innovating, and what future directions are in store for higher education and the incorporation of artificial intelligence.

Welcome to the EdUp Innovation series! Hear from host Brad Fuster about this show and what's coming next.