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

Release Date: 08/05/2025

Innovation in Higher Education: How Leaders Build the Capacity to Adapt

Changing Higher Ed

Higher education leaders are being asked to innovate faster than their institutions are built to move. This episode of Changing Higher Ed explores how presidents and boards can change that. Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Erika Liodice, Executive Director of the Alliance for Innovation and Transformation (AFIT), about how institutions can strengthen their innovation capacity through futures thinking, cross-sector insight, and structured team-based planning. Topics Covered: How futures thinking helps leaders anticipate demographic, workforce, and technology shifts Why innovation efforts fail...

Accreditation Trends and WASC Priorities for Student Success

Changing Higher Ed

are shifting under rising accountability pressures, financial constraints, and increased scrutiny of student outcomes. This episode of the features , President and CEO of the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), in a strategic conversation with about how institutions can strengthen accreditation readiness and support stronger student success. This episode is essential for presidents, provosts, trustees, and senior leaders responsible for accreditation, mission alignment, evidence systems, governance oversight, and long-term institutional resilience. Topics Covered How...

The Real Cost of Overlooking Teaching Quality in Higher Ed

Changing Higher Ed

Improving how teaching happens in the classroom is one of the most effective ways to increase student retention, stabilize tuition revenue, and strengthen institutional reputation—yet most universities don’t manage it strategically. In this episode of , speaks with , Associate Professor at the University of Iowa and author of The Missing Course, about how teaching quality has fallen outside institutional oversight and what presidents and boards can do to make it a core part of strategic leadership. They explore how governance structures, incentive systems, and faculty preparation create a...

Free Speech on College Campuses: Insights from FIRE's 2025 Report

Changing Higher Ed

Free speech on college campuses has become one of higher education’s most volatile and defining challenges. In this episode, talks with , Chief Research Advisor at FIRE—the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression—about findings from FIRE’s newly released and the state of academic freedom, the growing political pressures on universities, and how presidents and boards can protect open dialogue in today’s divided climate. Topics Covered: Why FIRE expanded its mission beyond higher education and no longer stands for “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.” How...

Aligning Higher Education Strategy and Programs with Workforce Needs and Student Value

Changing Higher Ed

Host welcomes , president of the University of North Texas and former Texas commissioner of higher education. This episode of the helps higher education presidents, boards, and senior leaders rethink how to connect institutional mission with workforce readiness. It explores how institutions can better align employer partnerships, faculty innovation, and experiential learning to ensure graduates gain both economic and civic value from their degrees. Listeners will hear how the University of North Texas is translating statewide strategy into campus-level change—showing what’s possible when...

Holistic Enrollment Strategy and Management: Filling the Enrollment Pipeline

Changing Higher Ed

At one of the smallest graduate schools in the nation, a system built to serve just over a hundred students is redefining how higher education can grow. CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism has proven that scale isn’t the key to enrollment stability—structure is. By integrating admissions, student affairs, career services, and alumni engagement into one cohesive unit, the school has created a holistic enrollment strategy and management model that continuously fills its pipeline while centering student success. In this episode of the Changing Higher...

Executing a Debt-Free Higher Education Turnaround with Real Estate

Changing Higher Ed

When every board discussion centers on deficits, deferred maintenance, or another “strategic realignment,” higher education leaders start asking what it would take to fix the system instead of just managing decline. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Beth Martin, President of Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), who led her institution through a complete financial and operational turnaround—eliminating institutional debt through strategic real estate use, risk planning, and sound financial governance. Martin’s experience offers...

Cybersecurity Risk Management in Higher Education—It's Not Just an IT Problem

Changing Higher Ed

Higher education institutions are increasingly at risk from cyberattacks that threaten enrollment, accreditation, financial aid compliance, and reputation. In this episode of the , speaks with at and former higher education CISO, about why cybersecurity must be treated as an enterprise risk—not just an IT issue. This conversation is especially relevant for presidents, trustees, and senior leaders who need to understand how cyber risk intersects with governance, strategic planning, crisis management, and accreditation readiness. Topics Covered: Why higher education is a prime target for...

Higher Education Fundraising and Strategic Planning Alignment

Changing Higher Ed

Higher education institutions face strained budgets, declining enrollments, and shifting donor behavior—making fundraising a strategic priority, not just an operational function. In this episode of the , Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with , CEO of and former university president, about how presidents and boards can strengthen higher education fundraising by Topics Covered: Why fundraising must be integrated into institutional strategic planning The shift from the 80/20 rule to today’s 95/5 donor reality The concept of “mattership” and why donors need assurance that their lives...

How AI Dashboards Can Strengthen Board Governance

Changing Higher Ed

AI dashboards offer higher education boards the opportunity to boost performance to improve their institutions. In this episode of the , speaks with , about how AI dashboards provide trustees with better insight into board work and support This conversation is especially relevant for presidents, trustees, and board professionals seeking to strengthen board readiness and make governance more data-informed. Topics Covered: How AI dashboards consolidate board materials and surface the most important information Methods for tracking progress against institutional strategy over multiple years...

More Episodes

40% of California’s licensed doctoral psychologists come from one university that nearly failed a decade ago. Their turnaround didn’t come from diversifying programs or chasing enrollment—it came from making the hardest decision in higher ed: cutting what wasn’t excellent.

In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, 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 calls, realigning programs, and embedding scalable mental health support into their core operations.

Drawing from Alliant’s strategic shift, Vaughn explains why program focus and transparent leadership are more effective than traditional diversification models. He shares how embedding mental health services into academic programs created both a market advantage and a support system for students, faculty, and staff.

Topics Covered:

Why eliminating underperforming programs can drive institutional transformation
How program realignment strengthens financial stability and market positioning
Embedding scalable mental health services into academic programs and operations
The leadership imperative: transparency, inclusion, and decisive action
Codifying organizational values to guide behavior and decision-making
Managing faculty-administration relations with professionalism and respect
Preparing for unprecedented policy and legislative changes impacting higher ed

Real-World Examples Discussed:

Alliant International University’s strategic focus on licensure-driven programs
The integration of Alliant Clinics, providing community mental health services
Leadership communication practices to maintain trust during operational changes
Partnering with psychology schools for scalable mental health service delivery

Three Key Takeaways for Leadership:

Codify and normalize institutional values so that decision-making and behaviors align across all levels.
Be transparent with stakeholders about challenges and solutions, fostering trust and shared ownership of outcomes.
Involve the entire institution—including part-time staff—in transformation efforts to ensure unified execution during critical periods.

This episode offers a practical framework for institutional leaders navigating transformation, operational challenges, and the rising demand for campus-wide mental health support.

Recommended For: Presidents, trustees, provosts, CFOs, student affairs leaders, and higher education executives focused on institutional sustainability and student success.

Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/university-transformation-program-focus-scalable-mental-health/

#UniversityTransformation #HigherEdLeadership #MentalHealthSupport #ProgramRealignment #HigherEducationPodcast

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