THE CHANGE LEADER

Category: Organizational Redesign & Academic Restructuring

Changing Higher Ed podcast 322 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Christa Davis Acampora | The Purpose of Liberal Arts Education in the Age of AI

The Purpose of Liberal Arts Education in the Age of AI:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 322 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Christa Acampora

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Christa Acampora, philosopher and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia, where she is leading the integration of AI into the curriculum. The discussion centers on the purpose of liberal arts education in the age of AI, separating the public’s doubts about the cost of a degree from the question of its value, examining what generative AI’s ability to produce competent outputs reveals about what higher education has rewarded, and detailing how UVA is making student formation visible through its first-year learning experience, the Commonplace Book, and an AI Literacy and Action Lab.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Cost vs. Value Clarity: Why Gallup-Lumina

July 28, 2026 July 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed podcast 320 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Fred Bonato | What Manhattan University’s Top-2% Mid-Career Salary Ranking Reveals About Liberal Arts and Workforce Readiness

What Manhattan University’s Top-2% Mid-Career Salary Ranking Reveals About Liberal Arts and Workforce Readiness:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 320 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Fred Bonato

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Fred Bonato, President of Manhattan University, where graduates rank in the top 2% nationally for mid-career salaries and The Wall Street Journal ranks the university 73rd in the country. The conversation examines the institutional decisions behind those outcomes: pairing a liberal arts core with universal technology preparation, and making both stick through governance, hiring, and culture rather than mandates.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Program Governance: Why Manhattan houses its AI, cybersecurity, and data science programs outside any single college, and what that structure prevents.

✓ Universal AI Baseline: How a required IBM SkillsBuild digital badge gives every first-year student AI fluency without waiting on a curriculum overhaul.

✓ Faculty Adoption Without Mandates:

July 14, 2026 July 14, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 313-Dr. Drumm McNaughton, David Marchick, and Angela Virtu-313: AI-First Business Education & 40% Enrollment Growth-How Kogod Transformed Culture, Curriculum, and Faculty Adoption

How Kogod’s AI-First Business School Model Drove 40% Enrollment Growth in Three Years:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 313 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton with guests David Marchick and Angela Virtu

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with returning guests David Marchick, Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University, and Angela Virtu, Professor of IT and Analytics and Associate Director of Kogod’s AI Institute. Kogod gave a faculty committee six weeks and a five-page limit to figure out what to do about AI. The result was a school-wide integration into every department, major, and minor. Three years later, undergraduate enrollment is up 40%, applications are up 50%, and more than 90% of faculty are using AI in the classroom. Marchick and Virtu walk through how they did it, what changed, and where they’re headed next.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Culture Over Technology: How Kogod treated AI integration as

May 26, 2026 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 304-Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Courtney Brown - Aligning Education & Work: The 2026 Lumina-Gallup Employer Report

Why 69% of Employers Say Grads Aren’t Ready: Inside the 2026 Lumina-Gallup Report:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 304 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Courtney Brown

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed®, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Courtney Brown, Vice President of Impact and Planning and Chief Data and Research Officer at Lumina Foundation, about new data from Lumina and Gallup’s Aligning Education and Work: What Employers Say Higher Education Must Deliver, and what it means for institutional strategy right now.

The findings challenge the narratives dominating higher education discourse on both sides. Employers still value degrees, three-quarters say they will be as or more important in five years. But only about half believe colleges are graduating students with the skills their organizations need, and 69 percent report that recent hires require moderate or significant additional training. That gap between degree value and preparation quality is where this conversation focuses.

Brown and McNaughton also

March 24, 2026 August 6, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 302-Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Jeff Dinski - Students Are Acting Like Consumers. Higher Ed Needs to Catch Up

Students Are Acting Like Consumers. Higher Ed Needs to Catch Up:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 302 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jeff Dinski

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Jeff Dinski, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer at Ellucian, examine what is actually driving the crisis of confidence in higher education, what Workforce Pell Grants will change about how institutions fund and deliver programs, and what institutional strategy has to look like for leaders who want to get ahead of the disruption rather than react to it. Dinski brings more than 20 years across sports media, entrepreneurship, and edtech, including time as a partner at Tyton Partners and as an operating executive at Parchment. McNaughton brings decades of experience consulting with presidents and boards on strategy, enrollment, and governance.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ The Confidence Crisis: Why both political parties have contributed to

March 11, 2026 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast 295 Reduce Student Debt Risk and Improve Employability with Distributed Practicum -Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Jarred McNeely.jpg

Reduce Student Debt Risk and Improve Employability with Distributed Practicum:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 295 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jarred McNeely

Reducing student debt while improving employability is one of the most persistent challenges facing higher education today. Institutions are under pressure to deliver stronger outcomes without expanding costs, infrastructure, or student risk.

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Jarred McNeely, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Sonoran Desert Institute, about how hands-on, applied education can be delivered beyond traditional campus labs while maintaining rigor, quality, and workforce relevance. The discussion explores a distributed practicum approach that allows students to demonstrate competence, progress through credentials, and stay economically mobile while learning.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Student Debt Risk: How shorter, applied learning pathways reduce financial exposure without lowering standards

✓ Employability Outcomes: Why demonstrated competence matters more than seat time

January 20, 2026 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast Cover Image-Podcast 292: How Stevens Tech Became One of the Strongest Transformation Stories in Higher Education

How Stevens Tech Became One of the Strongest Transformation Stories in Higher Education:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 292 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Nariman Farvardin

Strategic Planning and Academic Realignment at Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology has become a living example of how disciplined strategic planning, academic realignment, and institutional follow-through can transform a university for long-term relevance and success. This episode of the Changing Higher Ed podcast features Dr. Nariman Farvardin, President of Stevens Institute of Technology. Since assuming the presidency in 2011, Dr. Farvardin has led a remarkable institutional transformation driven by comprehensive planning, academic realignment, and sustained execution. Under his leadership, Stevens moved from incremental change to structural transformation, producing outcomes that place the institution among the strongest performers in the country. The result is not theoretical success. It is measurable, sustained performance across enrollment demand, student outcomes, research activity, and institutional reputation. Under Dr. Farvardin’s presidency: Undergraduate applications

December 30, 2025 June 27, 2026
Board meeting at a higher education institution discussing Academic Realignment and Organizational Redesign for Stronger Programs

Academic Realignment and Organizational Redesign: Why Your Institution Can’t Afford to Wait:

Strategic transformation lessons from the field—and why most institutions are getting it wrong

Across campuses, leaders are confronting structures that no longer fit the way higher education works today. Academic models built for a different era are colliding with current realities, slowing the progress institutions urgently need to make.

In his latest article, Dr. Drumm McNaughton explains how aligning academic programs with organizational structure can position colleges and universities for long-term relevance and sustainability. He shares practical strategies drawn from real-world transformations, including:

✓ Connecting academic offerings to workforce realities while preserving academic integrity

✓ Streamlining governance to enable faster, more effective decision-making

✓ Restructuring programs and departments to improve collaboration and efficiency

✓ Engaging stakeholders in a way that builds trust and accelerates change

✓ Anticipating accreditation implications to avoid costly missteps

This is essential reading for presidents, provosts, and trustees ready

August 14, 2025 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed podcast 271 cover image for University Transformation: Tough Calls, Program Realignment and Mental Health Support featuring Andy Vaughn and Dr. Drumm McNaughton

How University Leaders Can Transform Institutions with Program Realignment and Scalable Mental Health Services:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 271 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Andy Vaughn

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Andy Vaughn, President and CEO of Alliant International University, about how institutional leaders can drive university transformation by making tough decisions, realigning academic programs, and embedding scalable mental health support into operations. Alliant now produces 40% of California’s licensed doctoral psychologists and 10–12% nationwide—a turnaround driven by eliminating underperforming programs and focusing on licensure-driven education.

Topics Include:

✓ Why eliminating underperforming programs can create long-term institutional stability.

✓ How embedding scalable mental health support systems benefits students, staff, and market positioning.

✓ Practical leadership approaches for maintaining transparency and building trust during significant change.

✓ The role of codified organizational values in streamlining decision-making and reinforcing culture.

✓ Strategies for managing professional faculty-administration collaboration during periods of

August 5, 2025 June 27, 2026
Shared Services and Consolidation Strategies for Small Colleges - Changing Higher Ed podcast 263 featuring Drumm McNaughton and Jason Duggan

Shared Services and Consolidation Strategies for Small Colleges:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 263 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jason Duggan

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Jason Duggan, CEO of Thesis Elements, a cloud-based student information system purpose-built for small to mid-size institutions. The conversation explores how small colleges are evaluating shared services and consolidation strategies to improve operational efficiency, manage costs, and support institutional sustainability—while maintaining mission alignment and student outcomes.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Shared Services Insights: How small colleges are using shared services to reduce administrative costs and access specialized talent.

✓ Consolidation Options: Strategic approaches to institutional consolidation and how they can support enrollment and operational goals.

✓ Academic Partnerships: How academic resource-sharing is helping expand student offerings while managing instructional expenses.

✓ Financial Strategies: Innovative financial and academic approaches that support institutional resilience.

✓

June 10, 2025 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed podcast 262 with Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Scott Cowen - Adding Leadership Development to Academic Curriculum Design

Adding Leadership Development to Academic Curriculum Design in Higher Ed:

Changing Higher Ed® podcast 262 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Scott Cowen

How Institutions Can Systematize Leadership Development for Students and Early-Career Professionals: Leadership Development as an Institutional Imperative Institutions routinely cite leadership development as a goal, yet few treat it as a strategic priority embedded in academic curriculum design or operational frameworks. Leadership is often assumed to be an innate quality or left to emerge through informal mentoring and experience. As a result, graduates may leave college with technical competence but lack the ability to lead, collaborate, or adapt to real-world leadership challenges. Dr. Scott Cowen, President Emeritus of Tulane University, believes this is a missed opportunity—and a solvable problem. Drawing on his decades of leadership experience, including overseeing Tulane’s post-Hurricane Katrina recovery and teaching leadership at Tulane and Case Western, Cowen outlines how institutions can take responsibility for cultivating leadership

June 3, 2025 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed podcast episode 260 featuring Drumm McNaughton and Kathleen deLaski discussing how to align academic programs with workforce needs and serve nontraditional students

How to Align Academic Programs with Workforce Needs and Serve Nontraditional Students:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 260 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Kathleen deLaski

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Kathleen deLaski, founder of Education Design Lab and author of Who Needs College Anymore?, about how colleges and universities can align academic programs with workforce needs and better serve the growing population of nontraditional students. The conversation explores modular credentialing, skills-based learning, and what it takes to restructure academic offerings for long-term relevance and economic mobility.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Skills-Based Learning: How institutions can integrate job-relevant skills into curriculum design.

✓ Step-Ladder Credentials: Why modular, stackable credentials help students gain momentum and return later to complete degrees.

✓ Workforce Alignment: How academic outcomes can be translated into competencies that employers recognize and value.

✓ Structural Shifts: Why redesigning programs alone won’t work

May 20, 2025 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed Podcast episode 255 graphic for Changing Higher Ed featuring host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Dr. Courtney Brown discussing public trust in higher education and insights from Gallup-Lumina Foundation

The State of Public Trust in Higher Education: Insights from Gallup-Lumina Foundation:

Changing Higher Ed® podcast 255 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Courtney Brown

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Courtney Brown, Vice President of Strategic Impact and Planning at Lumina Foundation, about Gallup–Lumina research on declining public trust in higher education. The conversation explores the real reasons behind Americans’ loss of confidence, the paradox of cost and value, and what institutional leaders must do to restore credibility.

They also discuss Lumina’s new 2040 goal for 75% credential attainment—and why aligning academic offerings with workforce needs is critical for regaining relevance.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Trust Metrics: What Gallup’s latest data reveals about public confidence in higher education.

✓ Cost vs. Value: Why most Americans believe college is unaffordable—even if they think it’s worth it.

✓ Political Perception: How public narratives around

April 15, 2025 June 27, 2026
Strategic Considerations for College Leaders Exploring Short-Term Credentials - Changing Higher Ed Podcast 253 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jinann Bitar

Strategic Considerations for College Leaders Exploring Short-Term Credentials:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 253 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Jinann Bitar

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Jinann Bitar, Director of Higher Education Research and Data Analytics at Education Trust. The conversation explores the rising interest in short-term credential programs and what college leaders need to understand before implementing them—from cost and access to long-term value and policy shifts.

EdTrust’s latest research uncovers critical insights about affordability, enrollment trends, and why most short-term credentials remain financially out of reach without state or federal aid. Jinann also outlines how institutional leaders can approach academic restructuring to ensure new programs align with both student needs and strategic goals.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Cost Reality: Why short-term credentials aren’t automatically affordable and how cost per hour compares to minimum wage.

✓ Access Challenges:

April 1, 2025 June 27, 2026
Higher Education Innovation That Builds Workforce-Ready Graduates- Changing Higher Ed Podcast 250 with Alex Hernandez

Higher Education Innovation That Builds Workforce-Ready Graduates:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 250 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Alex Hernandez

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Alex Hernandez, President of Champlain College, about how institutions can build their innovation muscle to better align academic programs with workforce needs. Champlain has become a national model for career-focused higher education, where 80% of graduates land jobs in their field of study.

Through strategic planning, faculty-led innovation, and employer engagement, Champlain shows how colleges can evolve academic structures and graduate students prepared for work, life, and impact.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Strategic Planning in Action: How to turn planning into an annual, adaptive process rooted in mission.

✓ Innovation as a Cultural Capacity: What it takes to build long-term institutional innovation muscle.

✓ Career-First Curriculum: How Champlain redesigned the student journey for

March 11, 2025 June 27, 2026
Changing Higher Ed podcast 248 Transforming College Advising: A New Approach to Student Success with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guests Scott Carlson and Ned Scott Laff

Transforming College Advising: A New Approach to Student Success:

Changing Higher Ed podcast 248 with host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guests Scott Carlson and Dr. Ned Scott Laff

In this episode of Changing Higher Ed, Drumm speaks with Scott Carlson, senior writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Dr. Ned Scott Laff, who has over 35 years of experience helping students design successful undergraduate experiences. The discussion centers around their book “Hacking College: Why the Major Really Doesn’t Matter and What Really Does,” examining how institutions can rethink academic advising, faculty engagement, and student success strategies to better serve today’s learners.

What you’ll gain from listening to this podcast:

✓ Academic Advising Reform: Why traditional major-centric advising fails students and what approaches actually work.

✓ Faculty Engagement: How to transform faculty roles from course instructors to career mentors and network builders.

✓ Hidden Job Market: Strategies to help students discover career opportunities beyond traditional recruitment channels.

✓

February 25, 2025 June 27, 2026
Scaling online education with centralized operations for state university systems - Building Centralized, Scalable Online Models for Higher Education Financial Sustainability

Scaling Online Education for State University Systems:

Building Centralized, Scalable Online Models for Higher Education Financial Sustainability

In this strategic analysis, we examine an auspicious path forward for state university systems in scaling online education to meet evolving student needs and ensure institutional sustainability. The discussion centers around successful models of centralized online operations, drawing insights from institutions that have successfully grown their institutions and expanded student offerings, while cutting costs like University of Maryland Global Campus, Southern New Hampshire University, and UMass Online.

What you’ll gain from reading this analysis:

✓ Centralization Strategy: Learn how to effectively consolidate marketing and administration while leveraging distributed academic expertise.

✓ Financial Sustainability: Understand proven models for revenue sharing, credit-hour allocation, and sustainable tuition structures.

✓ Implementation Roadmap: Master practical steps for securing faculty buy-in and launching successful online programs.

✓ Marketing Excellence: Discover strategies for unified branding and targeted

January 16, 2025 June 27, 2026
academic realignment frameworks higher education board or directors in a conference room discussing academic realignment frameworks for their institution

Three-Year College Degrees: A Strategic Response to Enrollment Challenges:

An Academic Realignment Framework for Modern Higher Education

In this comprehensive analysis, we examine how three-year college degrees and academic realignment can help institutions address enrollment challenges in higher education.

Article Overview:

✓ Analysis of why students and parents choose accelerated degree programs, and what this means for your institution’s future.

✓ Practical strategies for implementing three-year degrees while maintaining academic quality and meeting accreditation requirements.

✓ A structured framework for academic realignment, including faculty engagement and curriculum redesign approaches.

✓ Case studies from Purdue, SNHU, and NAU demonstrating successful three-year degree programs.

✓ Evidence-based guidance for identifying suitable programs and addressing implementation challenges.

This article offers practical solutions for institutional leaders looking to revitalize their degree offerings and create programs that meet student needs while strengthening enrollment.

November 21, 2024 August 7, 2026
College and University Closures and Transparency in Higher Ed

College and University Closures – Transparency in Higher Ed

College and university closures. According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, closures of four-year, private, not-for-profit universities and colleges in 2017 are expected to triple from the current average rate of five per year.

January 28, 2017 December 5, 2024
The Pros & Cons of Organizational Transparency

The Pros & Cons of Organizational Transparency

Organizational transparency is here to stay. In fact, some may argue it’s the new competitive advantage. With the digital age in full bloom, it’s never been easier or more convenient for institutions to open doors to how they think and behave.

February 4, 2013 November 10, 2025

Categories

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get the Latest News, Posts, and Podcasts in Our Monthly Newsletters