ALP: The Admissions Leadership Podcast

Lisa Keegan returns to the mic just as she prepares to step into her new role as the inaugural Vice Provost for Enrollment Strategy at William & Mary. With signature candor, humor, and heart, Lisa reflects on her five-year tenure at Bucknell University, where she helped build and elevate a leadership bench that is now stepping into her shoes. We explore the “liminal moment” of transition, how to onboard with humility, and what ...

Have you ever caught yourself making an assumption about someone's capacity for success based on where they come from or the challenges they've faced? At this time of year, when many admissions offices are deep in application review, it seems fitting to pause and reflect on how assumptions can shape decisions.

In this Peak Perspective, we hear a vignette from Laura Kaub, director of the Duolingo Partnership with ...

Have you ever paused to consider the path you were on? Maybe that reflection led to affirmation, a definitive “Yes, this is the right direction.” Then again, maybe you sensed a quiet voice asking the question, “Are you sure this is the right direction?”

In this Peak Perspective, we hear a story from Thom Golden, founder and CEO of Golden Educational Consulting, who found himself on the traditional admissions leadership tra...

Have you ever faced an opportunity that made you question your readiness, your abilities—even your worth?

In this Peak Perspective, I share a story from Marie Bigham, founder of ACCEPT and IQID, who wrestled with self-doubt when she was invited to make a leap. What gave her the confidence to jump? (Original audio clip from Season 1, Episode 4 of the ALP)

It's from Chapter 8, "Living with the Imposter,&qu...

Have you ever made a decision so unexpected that it completely changed the course of your life?

Welcome to Peak Perspectives, a short-form spinoff of the ALP, where I share insights and stories from my new book, Climbing the Admissions Leadership Peak. Chapter 10, "Embrace the Unexpected," shares the stories of six admissions leaders who did just that. Here I read the intro of that chapter where I describe my own...

Nathan Ament and Teege Mettille are the creators and co-hosts of the hit podcast, The Admissions Directors Lunchcast. They share different versions of their podcast's origin while somehow enticing Ken to share how the ALP came to be. Also, there's a teaser hidden in the Rapid Descent that you might catch if you listen carefully.

Special shout-out to a slew of Nathan's and Teege's former Lawrence colleag...

(No, the other one.)

What happens when two avowed GenXers record a podcast episode? From the host you get a bad reference to C+C Music Factory; from the guest you get helpful lessons on "how to vice president." Michael Keaton, VP for Enrollment Management at Ursinus College, sets the record straight on who was Michael Keaton first, how to leave things better than you found them, and why all colleges are not in th...

Carin Smith, domestic recruitment manager and Chicago regional representative for Beloit College (and a former member of Ken's team at Lawrence who helped him learn how to be an admissions director through a creative partnership she arranged), talks about how to lead without title, and the four reasons why this has been a deliberate choice she has made over her four decades in college admissions. She'll also share three e...

From the time he was a little boy, Jeff Blahnik always wanted to be "an attorney," but a moment of crisis halfway through law school changed his path. He's now the Vice President of Enrollment Management at the University of Oklahoma, and shares the secret of winning the job interview at OU, how "inspired hospitality" makes a flagship feel intimate, and how to establish yourself as a new leader at a new ins...

Angela Frazier, Vice President of Student Services at Waukesha County Technical College (the ALP's first guest two-year college enrollment leader and the first African-American leader in WCTC's 100-year history) shines a light on what people get wrong about two-year colleges; how WCTC has punched above its weight with recruitment and retention; and why she needs help with a walkout song.

Special shout-out to Ange...

Justin Draeger, President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, joins the ALP to share what colleagues in admissions, enrollment, student success, presidents' offices, etc. can do to support their financial aid colleagues, who are about to do 6 to 9 months of work in about 4 to 6 weeks. A deep thinker, reader, writer and speaker, Justin also shares a bunch of excellent leadership lessons,...

Richard Harrison Bailey—the RHB behind RHB—joins the ALP to discuss the principle of Coherence; the virtuous cycle of relevance, relationships and revenue for colleges; the difference between market position and brand; and how the values of truth, beauty, love and justice animate the core values and, to this day, guide the work of the firm he and his business partner (and spouse), Tammy Bailey, formed in 1991. 

Rapid Descent

1. Walk...

Laura Kaub, director of the Duolingo partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees program, talks about keeping refugees and African students out of the "hole" in holistic admission so they can get into the economic, educational and political systems that can bring about change. She provides examples of U.S colleges that "get it right," including Macalester and Northwestern, as well as model...

How does someone go from being a lawyer and a photographer to found and lead the company that has reshaped the college fair experience for millions of students and more than 15,000 admission professionals representing more than 2500 institutions around the world?  Dan Saavedra, founder and president of StriveScan, tells us how he built StriveScan (spoiler, with trust and the friendliest client contract ... ever).  Live through what...

What is it like to leave the familiarity of higher ed to join a tech company with a vision to change how the world thinks about language testing? Jen Dewar, Senior Director of Strategic Engagement for the Duolingo English Test, shares how to break through, climb steep learning curves, learn from setbacks ... and why you don't win or lose—you only win or learn.

References

• Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Duolingo...

Get ready for an episode rife with random references when David Burge, VP for Enrollment Management at George Mason University and winner of the Margaret E. Addis Service to NACAC Award, joins the ALP to discuss ADVANCE, a model transfer partnership between GMU and Northern Virginia Community College. Warning: this episode contains eye-rolling dad jokes. Listener discretion is advised.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song: Champion by Fall...

We have featured a bunch of folks who have gone from inside to "alongside" higher ed (including your host). Carolyn Noll Sorg, VP for Enrollment at John Carroll University has chosen to go in the other direction, and reminds us of the things that call us into this work.

Bonus: Carolyn shares wonderful insights into how to think about creating memorable experiences for your students—including how to wrap it into ...

Season Premiere: Ethan Sawyer, founder of College Essay Guy, kicks off Season 8 of the ALP and we quickly learn it's not about the essay ... it's about figuring out who you are and what you care about. We talk about the applicability of Ethan's discovery exercises to everybody (not just college applicants), why Ethan might be the perfect candidate to interview Ken someday, and what roles Jesus and diapers play in the...