In this episode of Trusted Voices, Erin Hennessy and Teresa Valerio Parrot unpack what they’re hearing across recent conferences and conversations with leaders on the ground. The picture that emerges is complex: policy shifts, leadership turnover, and global uncertainty all colliding at the same time.
And none of it is happening in isolation.
International education is a clear example. What used to feel steady is now shaped by factors institutions can’t fully control — geopolitics, perception, policy. The demand is still there, but it’s less predictable. And that uncertainty is forcing institutions to rethink how they plan and where they invest.
So what does leadership look like in this environment?
As Erin and Teresa point out, it’s less about having the right answers and more about asking better questions. Less about control, more about staying flexible and connected across teams. The leaders who are navigating this well aren’t pretending things are stable, they’re building strategies that can hold up even when they’re not.
There’s also a quieter thread in the conversation: the need for perspective. Whether it’s frameworks, shared insights, or even book recommendations, there’s a clear effort to step back and think more deliberately instead of reacting to every new development.
Show Notes
- Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education by Brian Rosenberg
- Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Looming Academic Crisis by Bryan Alexander
- Understanding College Athletics: What Campus Leaders Need to Know About College Athletics by Karen Weaver (publishes in August)
- Defunding MSIs Doesn’t Just Hurt Minority Students
- Wisconsin System Ousts President
- Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business offers Maryland grads half off
- The Education Department’s proposed overhaul of accreditation is here
- Sport Finance: Where the Money Comes From, and Where the Money Goes by Karen Weaver
- University: A Reckoning by Lee Bollinger
- The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future by Arthur Levine and Scott Van Pelt
- Leading Toward Liberation: How to Build Cultures of Thriving in Higher Education by Annmarie Caño
Read the full transcript here
Erin Hennessy
Hello and welcome to the Trusted Voices Podcast. I’m Erin Hennessy, alongside Teresa Valerio Parrot, and in each episode, we discuss the latest news and biggest issues facing higher education leaders through a communications lens. For these conversations, we’re often joined by a guest who shares their own experiences and perspectives, but we also make time for one-on-one conversations about what we’re seeing, hearing, and thinking. Trusted Voices is produced by Volt, the go-to news source for higher ed leaders and decision makers. Remember to visit Volt at Voltedu.com and subscribe to Trusted Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss an episode.
Hey.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Hi, I have some great news.
Erin Hennessy
I’m taking next week off?
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Maybe, I don’t know.
Erin Hennessy
I am.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
But in honor of the last episode, I wanted to update everybody that the Nuggets have made the playoffs.
Erin Hennessy
Excellent. Congrats on that.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, congrats to Mama Valerio.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, I had a brush with sports this week. I was in Los Angeles for a pre-conference session for AERA, the American Educational Research Association, and the Nashville Predators.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
My home association for my scholarship, yes.
Erin Hennessy
Well, just wait, hold on. The Nashville Predators, which is a hockey team, stayed in my hotel because they were playing the LA Kings and we were staying at LA Live, which is, as you know, the cultural center of downtown Los Angeles. But here’s the thing you missed by not going to AERA this year.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I missed a lot.
Erin Hennessy
Sure. Chuck D spoke to the conference yesterday.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
What?!
Erin Hennessy
And I meant to text you yesterday and tell you that, but yes, Chuck D was a featured presenter. Presenter? I don’t know, speaker on the main stage at AERA. He’s got some film coming out that you should look into.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
That’s amazing. I love that on so many levels. The 90s high schooler in me and college student could not be more excited about that.
Erin Hennessy
I’m gonna show my ignorance here, so we may have to cut this out. Chuck D was Public Enemy, right? No.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
We’ll just keep going.
Erin Hennessy
No, tell me!
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Congratulations I want to share. My congratulations to both the men’s and women’s basketball champions. It was absolutely fantastic to watch them and I greatly enjoyed the dominance that we saw from some returning and some new teams. And there have been some new data points that have come out about how Americans are supporting women’s sports in the ways that they are, but how we still have some work to do on the equity of distribution of profits and also of opportunities.
Erin Hennessy
Yes, and also I was right. Chuck D is an American rapper best known as the leader and front man of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he founded in 1985, wow, with Flavor Flav.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes. All of this is correct. My big sigh is because how did you not? How is that a question?
Erin Hennessy
Because I grew up a very sheltered child.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
So if now I were to say, yeah boy, in honor of Flav, who also tying it all together, because that’s what I do, is such a strong supporter of women’s sports and has been not just sponsoring them himself, but also bringing awareness and doing fundraising campaigns for a variety of women’s sports. And he, on socials, was really hyping up the Women’s March Madness Tourney. So thank you, Flav.
Erin Hennessy
Yes, thanks, Flav. It’s the flavor of love, is what that is right there. Anyway…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
What time is it, Erin?
Erin Hennessy
…let’s, I don’t know, cause I don’t have a giant clock. I get the reference. I think it’s time for us to actually talk about the stuff we’re here to talk about cause we’re losing listeners by the second, I imagine.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
No, we still have a number of them who are like, she what? She what? I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Okay. So let’s talk.
Erin Hennessy
Let’s talk.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
You were at AERA and then you also, since our last recording, you were at…
Erin Hennessy
So I was at AGB National Conference on Trusteeship in, I only go to the best places, the Gaylord in Denver.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Uh hi, my backyard. Sorta.
Erin Hennessy
I, yes, just an odd, an odd place. But anyway, I was at AGB, which was great. And the thing I loved about it is they had such strong main stage presenters that makes it sound silly, but…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Like Chuck D?
Erin Hennessy
They did not have Chuck D but I will make that suggestion to the, to the team at AGB.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, or have Flava Flav.
Erin Hennessy
Or Flava Flav. Okay anyway, I was at AGB and I got to see Bryan Alexander who is a faculty member at Georgetown who is a higher education futurist. He’s everywhere on socials, as you call it. He’s got a weekly webcast that I have dropped in on a couple of times, but this was the first time I got to see him do sort of his Ted talk on what’s coming for higher ed. And it was fantastic.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Oh great!
Erin Hennessy
It was, my gosh, I was so impressed. It was at the right level of detail and specificity for this audience, which was primarily trustees and a smattering of presidents. It wasn’t doom or gloom. It wasn’t pollyanna. It just was what it was and touched on a range of issues, including AI, including lack of trust in higher education, including the climate crisis. Just a really wonderful presentation. So for folks who are looking for somebody to come talk to your boards, come talk to your alumni groups, come talk to your leadership teams, you should definitely be looking at Brian’s website to get some information about what he might be able to bring to your event or organization.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And also think of us. But keep going.
Erin Hennessy
Well, think of us first and then when our rider is too specific and too expensive, then you can think about other people. The second person, somebody who I was super excited to see present, was a guy named Robert Hur. He is a regent for the university system of Maryland. But in addition to that, he is the attorney of record for Harvard University in a number of their cases against the Trump administration.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
So he is like Ben-Hur.
Erin Hennessy
Just exactly like. And of course, could not talk about anything that isn’t already in the public domain about these lawsuits against the administration or lawsuits against Harvard. But just a really fascinating person to listen to when it comes to thinking about governance, when it comes to thinking about how to best protect higher education from overreach, whether that be on the state level, the federal level. Thinking about the roles and responsibilities of trustees to figure out how to protect their institution. Just a really phenomenal, again, not hyperbolic, typical attorney, very measured, very thoughtful, but not inscrutable. So that was excellent. And then the third session, which was not a,
plenary, but was a concurrent that I really enjoyed, was led by, I think I can now say my friend and definitely my neighbor, Karen Weaver, who is an expert on intercollegiate athletics. And she’s a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. And I took a page out of the Teresa Parrot playbook because she and I have followed each other on socials for ages. And I sent her a message while I was in the session before hers and said, I know you online, you know me online, we live across a river from one another, and I’m just gonna pop in and say, hi, before your session, which I’m really excited about. And I did, and she’s just delightful, and she…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
She is so smart, so delightful. Yes.
Erin Hennessy
So smart, and she gave this sort of whip around view of all of these issues in college athletics. She started, you know, obviously with NIL, but what was interesting was she said, I was torn between saying that the biggest issue in college athletics right now is NIL and between saying that the biggest issue is online sports betting.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, that seems to be the conflict right now, which is the bigger both threat, but then in some ways, reality, right? How do you balance the two of those? But those are the two that I’m seeing raised most often these days in athletics, is that double-headed monster that we have that is our reality.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah. And there’s some truly frightening research out there about how much your students, whether they are athletes or not, are spending both in terms of time, but really in terms of money on these apps. Interestingly, D3 athletes are more likely to engage, or D3 students are more likely to engage in sports betting than D1. And there are just horror stories of students having to drop out of school because they have spent all of their money, both whatever money they have, but also financial aid dollars.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Correct. Financial aid dollars.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, and leaving with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gambling debt in their early 20s, late teens, early 20s. So it was really, it was disheartening, but wonderful to hear about all of the sort of pressing issues. But my favorite, favorite part of the AGB meeting was that I walked out of there with a stack of books in my shopping cart.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Great!
Erin Hennessy
Number one, and these are all books that were referenced at the meeting. So Bryan Alexander has a new book coming out, or I guess it’s out at this point called Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Looming Academic Crisis.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Nice.
Erin Hennessy
Also referenced in one of the sessions was Brian Rosenberg, the former president of Macalester, his book, Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education. And then I also want to flag that Karen Weaver has a book coming out in August called Understanding College Athletics: What Campus Leaders Need to Know About College Athletics.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
So I would add one more Karen Weaver book. She wrote a, it’s a textbook, but it’s excellent on the financing of athletics. And that book is really, really phenomenal. So that would be something I would recommend for people to also read because when you look at that understanding college athletics overview, if you want to really dive in deeply, the finance part is where it really gets interesting these days.
Erin Hennessy
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And that’s a course that she teaches. And then also book that she wrote. Here’s my one thought on the list, just a caveat I would say. I think Brian Rosenberg’s book was good. So it came out about two, two and a half years ago. And he also, for those who attend AMA and are senior leaders, he was a speaker at the senior leader experience a year and a half ago. The one caveat I have about the book, and I have said this to him personally, although he probably doesn’t remember me, and that is, it’s the premise, whatever it is, I’m against it. He talks about what it feels like to be a campus leader and where some of these ideas come from, but he never brings it back around from whatever it is, I’m against it. It’s still, it’s such a. Hmm. Honest look, but I also think the solutions and the next steps and where we should and could go is missing. So maybe not Brian, I would love book two because thank you for pointing out why we have resistance, where the change is really impacting dynamics, and now what are your suggestions for leaders?
Erin Hennessy
What do we do?
That’s such an important point. And, and you bring me back around because I was just at, a pre-conference session at AERA, as I mentioned, for deans of colleges of education. And one of the things I was, I was there to talk with them about messaging. How do we message the need for and the value of education research. And so,
one of the things, and I think I warned the person I was talking to that this was a soapbox that I was going to hike myself up on is that higher education spends so much time talking to itself. We forget how to talk to normies, if you will. And, and somebody said, you know, the way I always talk about it is we spend so much time describing the problem and we don’t spend enough time figuring out the solution. And I think that is such a smart insight about how we just get caught in our own little bubble.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I’m going to add to that. We spend so much time talking about the problem and how it impacts us. We don’t talk about the why and the solution. So the why and the how are just glossed over and instead it’s purely the what. And in the deeper critical thinking comes with the other questions and the solutions from there.
Erin Hennessy
Yep. Yes. Yep.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Inflection. That’s what we need, inflection.
Erin Hennessy
Yes, and I’m hoping that one of these books solves some problem, one problem. I also want to just flag while we’re talking books that Lee Bollinger, the former president, President Emeritus of Columbia is releasing a book. just came out called University: A Reckoning.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I have an old book of his that I was part of a book club.
Erin Hennessy
And then there’s also, just because I was noodling around in in what was new in the higher ed book world, The Great Upheaval: Higher Education’s Past, Present, and Uncertain Future by Arthur Levine. And then this one sounds really interesting to me and makes me think about Kevin McClure’s work, Leading Toward Liberation: How to Build Cultures of Thriving in Higher Education by Annmarie Caño, I think. Caño? I’m not sure if it’s a short A or a long A. So those I was thinking about. And then also, Teresa, I came across, bringing it all the way back, a book called Higher Education that had a cover my grandmother would have described as a bodice ripper. It was some kind of romance something that I did not.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
About higher end?
Erin Hennessy
Sure. I’m sure it had meaningful discussions of…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Pedagogy.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, pedagogy and the demographic cliff.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Mm-hmm, it’s not a cliff.
Erin Hennessy
It’s a slope. But yes, I did briefly think about ordering that and shipping it to your house, but I restrained myself.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I would have read that. So I was visiting Grinnell a couple of weeks ago to see Anne Harris, who we had on our last episode, so episode reference. And while I was there, I saw that she has the John Thelen books on her bookshelf. And she said, I had described them as a romance novel because I love higher ed so much that it reminds you of all of our flaws and all of our excellence. And so she read the John Thelen books. And he has a new one that just came out that I need to order that is going to be a common read across the campus.
Erin Hennessy
Oh okay.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
So she said, one, his books are not romance novels to the industry. I disagree. But two, she thought they were so fantastic and history is so important for where we are and how we should think about the future that she is using his new co-authored book as a common read.
Erin Hennessy
Well, there you go.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
We’ll put all of these books in the show notes.
Erin Hennessy
Yes, and then once again, would somebody just send us a message and tell us that you want to have a book club with us?
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Right, let’s have a book club.
Erin Hennessy
Because then I could get, then I could get Teresa to pay for some of these books. I do, I do.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I would pay for them anyways and you know that.
Erin Hennessy
I do, I do.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And especially I love that you were leaning into higher ed scholarship books, which makes me think you should get your doctoral degree. And I’m sure Michael Harris would love that.
Erin Hennessy
Sure, and if you can pay for that, I’ll pay for the books myself.
Higher Voltage Ad Read
Erin Hennessy
I just wanted to mention, this is like such a good organic plug kind of episode. I just wanted to mention that we had Sara Custer on a podcast last season, a year into her tenure. And I just wanted to say that one of my favorite things that she has done as editor-in-chief of Inside Higher Ed is that she has started writing columns from the editor-in-chief and they’re so smart and they’re so thoughtful and I love…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
She’s brilliant. Yeah.
Erin Hennessy
Yes. And I… this is long something that I wish Doug and Scott had done because they see, somebody in that position see so much, hear so much, talks to so many people. And I love having the opportunity to sort of look into Sara’s brain. I would have loved it with Doug and Scott to see how they’re pulling all these things together and what kind of analysis they’re doing of what they’re seeing. And so, just want to flag for folks that Sara is writing this column. And this week’s in particular, I think is really smart. It’s talking about the president’s budget, which drives me crazy every year when it’s released, because we waste a ton of ink on it, and it is a meaningless.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And by president, you mean of the United States.
Erin Hennessy
Of the United States. It’s a messaging document, it’s nothing more, and I think we’ve already received all of the messages this president and his administration have for higher ed. But what Sara looks at is the impact that funding MSIs has on not just minority students, but the importance of those funds for institutions that manage to launch students from lower income quartiles and quintiles further up the economic ladder. It’s a really great piece. It’s really smart and thoughtful. So I recommend that to folks. was in this morning’s Inside Higher Ed email today. We’re recording on Thursday the 9th. So go back and find that, but also just make a habit of scrolling down past the Quick Takes and looking for Sara’s column when it appears.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I love that. And it aligns with work that we did many years ago and I did for years and years with Lumina Foundation on MSIs. And it was tied very closely to this. So if you’re also looking for an organization that works on these kind of issues, has research on them, has a number of different reports and other writings, please go to the Lumina Foundation. They have a fantastic magazine, Lumina Focus. They also have a daily newsletter where they consolidate articles that are tied to completion. And a number of those are focused on MSI success. We often think of MSIs as a place where we give additional discretionary funds or bonus funds, if you will, to help students. And to your point, it doesn’t just help minority students, it helps all students because the work that’s being done in Lumina tracks this very carefully is about student success writ large and environments that encourage graduation and facilitate that. So I’m super pleased to see that she’s talking about this as well because it’s critically important.
Erin Hennessy
Yep, yep. Okay, now I’m officially done for the moment.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Excellent. So my pieces are not nearly as positive, but here we go.
Erin Hennessy
Sure. What a change for us.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I know, I know.
Erin Hennessy
I’m the positive one and you are perhaps somewhat less so.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I still am positive. I’m gonna show Bryan that I can bring it around to positive, right? If I’m gonna expect it from him, here we go. And there are a number of different things that are kind of bubbling up right now. So there was an interesting piece and news, breaking news from higher ed, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, breaking news in higher ed that the Wisconsin system ousted its president. So I’m going to link to an article from Josh Moody also at Inside Higher Ed, where he talks about this and the reason that I’m mentioning it, the Chron had a piece on it. I also saw a piece out of Wisconsin. I saw a piece that was in the Wall Street Journal. I think there were a whole bunch of pieces on this.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah. Yeah.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Here’s what I will say is the reason that I think people are so interested is that the legislature is saying that the board, not all of whom have been confirmed for their board seats, they fired him because he wasn’t woke enough and was too closely aligned with right leaning members of the legislature and other elected officials. So this feels like a pendulum swing in some ways that if that’s why he was let go, it is a counterbalance, if you will, and a new chapter for what we’ve seen elsewhere across the country with some presidents and chancellors in their departures. It’s fascinating.
Erin Hennessy
Wisconsin leading the way. Yeah. Yes, it’s very, very interesting. And it is also interesting to see that this board, I mean, credit to him, I guess, they are toein’ the line. Nobody is talking to the press. I haven’t seen anything leak from the board. So somebody’s following our advice somewhere.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Correct. And that’s been one of the things that I’m very curious about is the president, well, the, yeah, the president, because I want to make sure it was a president, not a chancellor, he has been talking, but he has been saying, I have no idea. And I was blindsided, even though they had given a very public timeline to him that if you don’t resign by X time, we will fire you. And they did not TACO. Instead, they went forward and did exactly what they said they were going to do. So it was a fascinating, just case study for all of us to watch and I’ll be curious to see what comes. He is a lawyer and he says he does not plan to sue, at least at this point, as of you said, August 9th’s date. April 9th, April 9th, woo, look at me.
Erin Hennessy
Oh man.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I just passed by summer, but I will be curious to see if that changes and what that means. But it’s fascinating to see that he has continued to engage very cryptically and like randomly I’ll say in media associated with his departure.
Erin Hennessy
Yep, and they’ve appointed somebody as executive in charge.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Exactly. And it’s somebody from MarComm. So for all of you MarComm people who have presidential aspirations, and I know there are many of you who do and many of you who should, here you go.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, maybe not the way we want to get there, but…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Hey, sometimes fate chooses you.
Erin Hennessy
It will be interesting to see what the board elects to do regarding a search process, if there is one, what the timeline is and who they ultimately select.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And I would say also, let’s watch and see how the legislature reacts to this. Because if they feel like one of their own or an ally has been dismissed in a way that they would not prefer, I will be very curious to see if there’s retaliation against the Wisconsin system.
Erin Hennessy
Yep. Yep. Okay.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Okay, so that’s number one. The second is I wanted to dive a little bit into international education. I know that doesn’t apply to all institutions, perhaps, but I think there is the case to be made that it might start to apply to more institutions. And let me tell you why. Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business is now offering Maryland grads half off.
Erin Hennessy
Isn’t that a thing?
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes. So, and they’re saying it’s in part because they had so many international education spots that they traditionally filled that they still need to fill those seats. And what I can say in our work, I am hearing more and more from our clients who are not foreign student dependent and aren’t Johns Hopkins name brands, that there is now this cascading impact for them based on Johns Hopkins offering this. So it’s one of two things. They’re pulling students from other institutions. And second is now students that are in their states are saying, we want the Johns Hopkins treatment. So this is a very fascinating turn, I think, not just to talk about international education as a whole, but secondly, to point out that even if you haven’t had reliance on foreign student tuition dollars, there is a reality here that it still could impact you significantly this fall.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, one little footnote there on the business school side of it. We saw, you know, a couple of years ago, the beginnings and maybe the middle of the deflation of the MBA bubble. A lot of institutions that implemented these programs, cause they thought they would be silver bullets on the budget side, were starting to pull back from MBAs because they are expensive and because there were just, there were, we flooded the market. There were way too many. So based on Carey’s reputation, have no doubt that international enrollment is in the mix and probably playing a very large part in the mix. But I also wonder if there is somebody somewhere saying, well, our pool was getting a little softer or interest was getting a little softer. And this is also a convenient time to point at international and pull back.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yeah.
Erin Hennessy
Again, no doubt that International is playing a big role for Hopkins, but I would be interested if they’re not finally seeing a little impact of the bursting of the MBA bubble.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And I would also add that they’ve had campus expansion as well. So I think this also is an inflection point for the industry as they see the Vandies and the Johns Hopkins of the world adding locations. What does that look like in the current environment? When these projects were financed, when they were proposed to boards, we were in a much different spot in higher education. And so with where we are now, I think there are many factors that I think are worthwhile for all of us to follow as well.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, I mean, Hopkins spent a ton of money upgrading their DC facilities and…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, which is beautiful.
Erin Hennessy
Yes, but I still miss the Newseum.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Oh, I miss the Newseum so much. I was just talking about the other day to my husband because we went together and made me sad that it’s not there anymore. But the other thing that I would say is that some of the online conversation that I’m seeing isn’t about Johns Hopkins, but still is about international education. And that was some comments that Vice President JD Vance made about international students that kind of makes the assumption that there are limited number of spots and these limited number of spots are being taken by have been taken by foreign students traditionally, and that excludes opportunity for Americans. And the conversation that I’ve been seeing online is about how that’s not exactly how it works from an enrollment standpoint. It’s about qualifications. And second, the reality for a lot of programs that do accept international students about how the financing works, still tying back to Johns Hopkins, how that international tuition rate offsets the cost for many in the United States. So as we think about this, it’s how the international students enrich the experience and the opportunities and the learnings for our students. There aren’t a fixed number of seats and also the finances associated with their enrollment are critically important to those institutions. And I point back to something from June in 2025, and this was a piece that was in Politico about foreign student crackdown just beginning.
And I would love for everybody to go back and look at that because it really was a fantastic foreshadowing for where we find ourselves now and the conversations that are continuing, but after a year of the Trump administration and how that is further impacting enrollments for the fall.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah. Yep.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
So there we go.
Erin Hennessy
I’m holding in a very big sigh because I’m going to retain my seat as the optimistic person here.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, for today’s episode. Next, I’m going to add a piece from Eric Kelderman at The Chronicle that I thought was really fascinating. And there are other pieces again about this. And that is the education department’s proposed overhaul of accreditation is here.
Erin Hennessy
Yes.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
If you all will remember about a year and half ago, we had Belle Wheelan on. And I would love for everybody to go back and listen to that episode and then think about where we are now.
It was a fantastic foreshadowing, both of the conversations and the reality around this and what accreditors would do. And I think that one of the interesting components of this is the reality that I think all of these conversations about compacts with institutions didn’t go very far, didn’t bring in the institutions that the Department of Education hoped.
And I think that these accreditation changes that have been outlined by the Department of Education and are being reported by many outlets are the new compact. And I think this is a really critical time for us to go back and listen to what the purpose of accreditation has been, why accreditation is so important for students and for families as they make choices, and now how it’s being proposed as a very, very different, I would say hammer rather than a tool.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, agree. I think this is, accreditation is always one of those stories that only the wonkiest of the wonks track very closely. And I think it is time that we all sort of tune into this conversation because what we have seen with negotiated rulemaking and the Trump Department of Education is that they have put together committees for these negotiated rulemaking sessions that are heavily stacked to make sure that the consensus is reached, the consensus that the administration wants, and they reach it very, very quickly. So there’s going to be a session, I think it’s next week and then another meeting in May, maybe two meetings in May. But these things are going to be wrapped up quickly. are going to be…
Teresa Valerio Parrot
By design, this is the goal. Yes.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, and there are opportunities for folks, institutions and individuals, to comment on these negotiated rulemaking, the outcome of these sessions. If you go to the ACE website, there are some tools there for you to reach out and file comments with the Department of Education. And there’s some good insight there about what actually gets traction and how to, I don’t want to say game the system, but copying and pasting the same comment over and over and over again, just as recorded as one comment or one issue by the department. So we need to be very specific, need to talk very frankly about how this proposed change could impact your institution. So there’s just some guidance there at the ACE website that I would recommend folks look at and we’ll throw that link in the show notes as well. But this is one we need to track very closely because this is fundamental to how we do business.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Or don’t do business.
Erin Hennessy
Or don’t do business.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yeah, and I would also encourage that this would be a fantastic time for many who always say, how can I help my institution in these moments? Read what the proposal is for the accreditation changes. And every single person on every single campus can say, this is how it will change for better or for worse what I do and how I do it. And let your administration knows because for all, a lot of institutions are coming up with their responses. And again, to your point, the more specific that we can be, the more that institutions and leaders are willing to go on the record for what this could mean for the industry is critically important. And as we continue to talk about higher education, I’m seeing more and more that what is seeming to move the needle is the economic impact for communities and for associated industries, if you will, of what some of these changes mean. So as we all know, if you make a major policy shift, it’s going to have consequences. And the financial impact on many of our towns, communities, and industries could be significant. So make sure you’re following all of this information and then arming your leaders with what they need to be effective. I don’t know if you all heard that, but my dog just gave the biggest sigh when I was in the middle of that little diatribe.
Erin Hennessy
We should get a microphone for the dog.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
He would love that. Yes. The last piece I would have, and this is a, I was going to say positive. I don’t think it’s a positive. It just is. I was going to make, something out of positivity out of what just is a thing. There have been a number of conversations lately about where are all of the protesters? Whether it’s about the war with Iran or it’s about, the Trump administration and some of its policies, where are all of the protesters on campus and why are we not seeing the protests now? And does silence mean that students are okay with where we are? And I just thought it was such a laughable query because we have seen and we have talked about many times on this podcast that this administration isn’t interested in feedback and the purpose of protesting is to provide feedback.
Erin Hennessy
And make change.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Make and ask for change, make change and talk about what we want versus what we see and we’re receiving. So I just want for all of us to be very careful as we’re seeing some of these comments about where are the protesters. And I feel in some circles they’re trying to encourage protesting right now as we end the semester. That instead this is a moment, I think, for us to go back to our students and just check in on them because they aren’t protesting for a reason. They aren’t taking advantage of their First Amendment rights. And so if that is the case, and because we know it’s not just a shift in how students feel, it really is a shift perhaps in what they fear, that this is a perfect opportunity for our colleagues to go back and to check in on our students. Because for me, this isn’t a red flag that they’re not protesting because, you know, they’re not interested or they’re weak. It is a red flag for me that there is something deeper that perhaps we need to be looking into providing services on and making sure that we’re on the same page with them because we need to make sure that the kids are all right and the adults.
Erin Hennessy
Yep. And, I had some clear indications this week that we are sliding into that season where the stress is mounting and, all the resources in the world could be laid in front of you. And sometimes it’s just really hard to reach out to those resources, even if they are all available. And I know our institutions are dealing with a lot as we head into finals and commencement, reunion and our students are struggling in a lot of ways. And in addition to checking on your students, check on your frontline staff who are still in a lot of ways coming out of COVID and everything else. So sending good thoughts and fully caffeinated coffee to everybody out there doing the hard work.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes. Okay, so now I’m going to end on a positive. This really is. I’ve been threatening a positive for a while and here we go.
Erin Hennessy
I’m just gonna say this is like three more topics than you put in the show rundown, so you will be docked. Sure it is.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
That’s not true!
Erin Hennessy
Sure it is.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
No, this is the second one that wasn’t in the show rundown.
Erin Hennessy
Okay.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Because that one was one that was on my mind today, not yesterday. So I want to congratulate all of the people who have recently earned their doctoral degrees or are going through the dissertation defense process right now. March and April are the months for these sorts of efforts. And I just got a delightful email from Jorge Burmicky. And you all may remember he’s been on the podcast. He’s at Howard, and he’s an amazing professor of education. And he was saying he had meant to send me a note, because I had meant to send him a note. I was delayed, and then he took a bit to give back to me. Not very much. Jorge, you’re great. But he was saying it’s because it’s dissertation season, and he was just finishing work with his students who are now doctors. And that just made my heart so happy. And the way that he talked about it, as we heard when he was talking about leadership traits in higher ed, was such pride and joy that I wanted to give a shout out to Jorge. He was not late in his communications, that’s on me. Seeing that kind of joy and remembering why we’re doing all of this is so important. And I want to give a special shout out to one of my besties in the entire world, Dr. Binti Harvey, who just finished defending her dissertation last month, and she is a full-fledged doctor.
Erin Hennessy
Congratulations.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, so all of that is just a reminder that graduation is on the horizon and that’s always my favorite season because everybody for at least a day is happy mostly and we’re in the season that leads up to that with so many people reaching amazing milestones and that always makes my heart.
Erin Hennessy
Well, there you go. You did it.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
There you go.
Erin Hennessy
You did it.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And the Nuggets are in the playoffs.
Erin Hennessy
What more could a girl need?
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I think that’s it.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, maybe lunch. Lunch would be good.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And as you mentioned, coffee. Always will take the coffee.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, yep. All right, well, we are gonna be back with another episode in a couple of weeks. And then, believe it or not, one more after that to close the season out.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Yes, can I give one more set of tidbits?
Erin Hennessy
No!
Teresa Valerio Parrot
It’s not on there. I need to, Erin.
Erin Hennessy
No.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
It’ll be too late next time!
Erin Hennessy
Go ahead quickly.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
If you were going to propose a session for the American Marketing Association, do it. That is coming to a close in what will be a week after this episode drops. Also, I will be at a number of conferences this summer. You will be at a number of conferences. Check our website because those are listed. We would love to see people, whether you’re coming to Denver for the CASE Marketing and Branding Conference, or you’re going to be in DC for AALI, whatever it is, drop us a note. We are going to be across the country this summer. Erin had round one of travel, and then we both are going to hit round two. And then I think I close with round three. So look for us. We would love to say hello, and we’ll buy you a cup of coffee. Maybe a book, if Erin’s lucky.
Erin Hennessy
Yeah, I’ll buy a glass of wine.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And on that note, thank you.
Erin Hennessy
Are we finally done?
Teresa Valerio Parrot
And wait!
Erin Hennessy
No!
Teresa Valerio Parrot
I’ll save it for next time. Thank you everybody for listening.
Erin Hennessy
Thanks everybody. Bye.
Teresa Valerio Parrot
Buh bye!
Thank you for joining us for this episode. You can find links in the show notes to the topics and articles referenced, as well as a copy of the show’s transcript on the Volt website, Voltedu.com. Remember that you can always contact us with feedback, questions, or guest suggestions at trustedvoices@tvpcommunications.com. Follow Trusted Voices wherever you get your podcasts, and be sure to check out Higher Voltage and Campus Docket, the other podcasts on the Volt network. Until next time, thanks to Erin Hennessy, DJ Hauschild, and the Volt team, including Aaron and Maryna, for a great episode. And thank you for listening.
